All Time Low
by AD Axel
Summary: Aurorah really needed to stop touching things. She wouldn't be in this whole situation if she'd keep her hands to herself. But maybe it's not all bad, the grumpy robot in the forest seems nice. (BarricadexOc/MechxHuman AU, Fast-build Romance, character from an alternate world, Rating will rise in later chapters)
1. Castaway

Here is my new story, All Time Low. It is a BarricadexHuman Oc story. So cross species romance and eventual Smut. Rating will change in later chapters.

Also, you may or may not notice this but I like to name my stories and chapters after songs. So when I do I'll start naming them in the beginning.

 _ **Gonna add a warning in the beginning. This story is sorta crossoverish with Naruto. The character is from the Naruto world, but aside from being a shinobi and having shinobi abilities, there will be minimal mentions of the Naruto world. There may be small mentions for backstory sake, but I'll try not to delve too deep into it and if I happen to do so, I will mention before hand and you can skip it if you aren't interested in the character's backstory.**_

 _ **If you aren't okay with this, that's okay, you can skip my story. But I hope you'll give it a try. Should you not be into Naruto or not know much about it and need something explained, let me know and will be happy to do so. But hopefully it can be read without needing to know much about the Naruto verse.** _

_**Also, the girl is a fox girl. Not quite human but mostly. Here is a reference picture for your viewing pleasure: fav . me / dbemtcq (Remove spaces) Also a picture of her Khyber blade. The picture shows it's size compared to the character. It's pretty large.**_

 **All Time Low by Jon Bellion (** Really love this song **)**

 **Castaway by Benny Benassi**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Castaway**

 _No noise is breaking my silent star_  
 _I'm on the run, I can go so far_  
 _Flying in absence of gravity_  
 _Feeling the vibe of eternity_

Barricade stumbled into the abandoned warehouse, clutching at his chest as energon leaked freely. He grunted in pain, hauling himself further into the dark space, hoping to hide and treat his wounds in peace.

The battle for the Allspark had gone to shit. Barricade hadn't even made it close to mission city before he had been kicked out of the game. It irked him how quickly he was being disposed of by the autobots these days.

But maybe it was for the good. It was getting tiring, these battles. And for what, to restore a home already long gone. Had Barricade been younger, maybe he would still carry around some flickering hope that they could get cybertron back. But he wasn't some youngling anymore. He'd seen enough battle and death to know that hope wasn't worth keeping.

And what good had their war done? He wasn't sure. He hadn't been sure in a long time. He stayed with the decepticons because he was loyal and had nowhere else to go - he'd be damned if he ever went to the autobots- and that was it. But what had his loyalty been getting him?

Slagged. It was getting him slagged.

He grumbled, his back hitting the metal wall with a bang and he slid down to the floor. He was just so exhausted. Of all of it. They waged war on their planet, lost it and then just continued it on another, bringing these insufferable humans into the mix.

And now, now the Allspark was gone. The one thing that brought life to their race, that could maybe revive their dead planet, had been thrust chest deep into their crazy mad leader and obliterated.

Barricade hadn't needed to be apart of the battle to get that news. Starscream had made sure to broadcast it to all the living decepticons that their illustrious Lord Megatron was no more and that he was now in charge.

Honestly, Barricade hadn't really cared about it, he didn't really care now either. With no cybertron, no Allspark and no Megatron, what did the decepticons have left to fight for.

Nothing really. And if Starscream thought he was gonna fight for him he would be sorely disappointed. He'd much rather rust then work under that crazy seeker.

Barricade sighed and unsubspaced a field repair kit. He needed to try and repair the more serious damage. He had already waited too long to do so in an attempt to leave the battlegrounds and the autobots far behind him.

He had driven all the way to Utah. It had surprised him that he was even able to make it this far or that he was even able to transform in the first place. But he also knew a mech could do extraordinary things when faced with life or death. And if he had stayed near mission city, the autobots and their new human allies were sure to come looking for him. If he stayed under the radar, just maybe, he'd be able to avoid all confrontation period.

He was quick to start repair on the large gash near his chassis. It was the most important thing that needed tending to, being so very close to his spark chamber. He picked shards of glass and pieces of cement from the wound, making sure to close off leaking cables as he made his way through. He was by no means a medic, but he had the know how to keep himself from dying from energon loss.

With everything sealed up, Barricade slapped a basic weld patch on. It would hold for a while but it certainly wouldn't last forever. It wasn't meant for that.

He placed his kit to the side, venting raggedly as the pain assaulted him. He closed his optics. Maybe a little recharge would do him some good. There was no one around for miles so he shouldn't be bothered.

Yeah, he could do for some recharge.

* * *

It was raining.

Aurorah groaned when she felt the first drop of water on her face. Slowly waking, she became aware of not just the rain, but her aching body and the bed of hard rocks. When she went to open her eyes, light assaulted them and her hand quickly covered them as a headache surged through her skull. She rolled over to her side, the position being no more comfortable than being on her back but at least her eyes didn't face then sky.

 _Shit, what happened?_ she thought, slowly bringing herself into a sitting position. The aches protested her movements but she ignored them in favor of opening her eyes and taking in her surroundings. All around her was green. She was surrounded by trees and bushes in different shades of green; the only color being the browns of the tree trunks and various different wasn't right. Thinking, she clearly remembered her mission had been in the Wind country. The only green thing that frequented Wind was cactus. And she had been hell deep in some ancient ruins. No green there either.

She was missing something.

' _ **You were stupid, that's what.**_ '

Aurorah started when she heard the voice. It was a familiar voice, one that was with her at all times. A soothing pulse suddenly covered her mind like a balm and she breathed a relaxing sigh as her headache melted away. Her mind started to become muggy and red-orange wisps moved around her, chasing the cold and aches from her body.

' _ **I told you not to touch it Kit, but you never listen.**_ ' the voice griped, pushing more warmth towards her. She laughed when she felt tightly concealed worry.

"I'm sorry Kurama. I promise not to do it again." she said.

Within her mind, nine tails unfurled, revealing a lone creature sitting amongst brightly glowing red and purple crystals. A thick humanoid animal body rose from atop black stone surrounded by shallow water, shaking red-orange fur and stretching. Crimson eyes peered out, set in coal black fur that went to long ears and down orange cheeks. Two rows of sharp teeth bared themselves in an unbelieving sneer.

'Yes you will and we'll have this whole conversation all over again.' The creature, a fox named Kurama, snorted before laying back down, head resting on his arms. His tails hung over the end he of his perch and dipped into the cool water.

Aurorah recalled what Kurama had been so against her touching. The shard covered in strange red glyphs had peaked her interest as it sat upon a small pedestal, buried deep in the ruins. It was small, but she could feel such a radiating power from it. She really shouldn't have; Kurama had all but yelled at her not to, but she had reached out and touched it. Searing pain had been all they felt after that, as the red glyphs from the shard slithered onto her body, burning as they trailed along every inch of her skin.

It had done the same to the fox inside her. Kurama had been pissed, feeling the foreign energy entwine with their chakra. Invading where in was not wanted. But there was nothing they could do, and soon Aurorah felt the comfort of darkness beckoning her and she had slipped into unconsciousness.

Now she was here, in a strange green place that was not the decrepit ruins in the land of wind she had previously been in. Everything was hitting her senses and it felt out of place. The chakra was off, different than what she was used to and she couldn't explain it.

' ** _You need to get up and find shelter. This rain looks like it will become a storm._** ' Kurama was right. Aurorah could smell the storm brewing in the sky. If she didn't find somewhere to lay low, she'd get caught up in it.

Pushing off the muggy comfort that the fox had put her in and the disconcerting thoughts in her mind, Aurorah hauled herself up. Thankfully, her pack and weapon had been taken with her and she picked them up. Taking in that she was in the middle of nowhere, with no signs of people, she had nothing to follow and so she picked a direction and walked. Feeling the storm faster approaching she took to the trees, feeling her muscles ache as she pumped chakra into her feet and increased her speed.

She wasn't used to such feelings, as Kurama normally washed any pain away before it could settle fully. But this full body ache was persistent even with her companions healing chakra. It was frustrating, as they both shared in the pain. Was it from whatever had blacked her out to begin with? Once she was safe from the rain, she could try and tend to it herself.

It took around twenty minutes, the rain steadily getting harder and thunder rumbling in the distance, before she found a place to stay. It was a large metal warehouse, abandoned by the drab looks of it. It was covered in masses of hanging vines, foliage and low hanging trees, keeping it faintly hidden. It was strange though, as she had never seen such a warehouse before, but then everything around her was strange now. Aurorah quickly made a sweep of the perimeter before stopping in front of a large hangar door. Off to the side she could see a much smaller door that she'd be able to use. She approached it, jiggling the handle and finding it unlocked. She opened it, wincing when it creaked loudly in the quiet.

It was dark when she entered, and Aurorah was thankful to Kurama when chakra flooded her eyes, making them bleed from blue to red. The room was still dark but she could make out every structure within it.

Her ears twitched as she surveyed the room. It was so weird. The place seemed to be some metal workshop, different half finished and unused contraptions were all over the place. Tools and scrap metal lined the tables along the walls. But everything seemed abandoned judging from the fine layer of dust on everything.

Aurorah was startled and ears flicked back when a loud crunching sound came from behind her. A touch of dangerous energy brushed against her chakra field and she tensed, slowly turning to face a dark space off in the far corner.

"Who ever you are, come out!" She demanded, hand going to grip the handle of the the large khyber blade strapped to her back. She lowered to a defensive position, red chakra leaking in preparation to attack. A chuckle resounded through the warehouse and within the darkness, bright crimson light blinked on ominously. They looked down at her and Aurorah guessed they were the eyes of whoever was hiding.

"Oh little human, so ready to jump to your death." A voice sneered. Aurorah frowned. The voice was male, of that she was sure but there was this electric quality to it that made it slightly inhuman. It was unnerving.

The crunching sounded -metal against metal is what it sounded like to her- resumed and suddenly she was face to face with the strangest being she had yet to ever see. So shocked by the creature's sudden appearance into her space, she stepped back only to trip and fall on her backside, blade slipping from her hands and clattering to the floor. She leaned onto her elbows and looked up, watching as he loomed ever closer. Two metal arms came to cage her in on either side as four red eyes bore into her.

And that's all he did. He stared at her for a long while, and she was much too unsettled by the whole thing to do anything about it. Despite her feelings though, she did find him interesting. She watched as the black and white metal plating his body was made up of move on its own, flaring on occasion only to clamp down. It reminded her of how Kurama's fur would rise and settle with his emotions.

But she was unsure what this creature was thinking. Was he going to try and kill her, as she seemed to have trespassed into his home; or did he plan to continue starting a hole into her.

After another few moments of awkward staring, Aurorah decided she'd had enough. She raised her hand up, startling him enough by her sudden gesture to make him rear his head back slightly. He looked at her hand as if it had offended him in some way.

"My names Aurorah." She said as confidently as she could. His eyes turned from her offending hand to refocus on her face. Again he just stared and she lowered her hand. "Okaaay. Look, I said my name now you say yours." She encouraged. That finally seemed to get a reaction from him aside from staring and she was finally granted space when he growled deeply and stepped back.

"My name is of no concern to you fleshling." He returned to his dark corner, red eyes glowering at her. "You wish to pass the storm here. You may do so, but you will leave once it has gone understood?"

Aurorah ignored his rudeness in favor of accepting his kindness in allowing her refuge in his little home. He could just as easily make her leave and she really didn't want to run around anymore in the rain with the storm so close. Maybe later she could weasel a name out of the big creature.

"Thank you." She said. She only received a grunt before red eyes disappeared in the dark.

* * *

Now, some info. Instead of the usual transported from a world like ours, I decided she is a shinobi from the Naruto verse. It would make giving her Kurama a little more sense. For why Kurama is no longer with Naruto? Well I haven't decided on whether Naruto even exists in my headcannon, or if he has already passed and the mantle of Jinjuuriki has been given to Aurorah. This also mean Aurorah is no weakling. She knows how to fight and shes not afraid to do so. Yes, the cybertronians surprise her at first, the whole world does right now, but she gets over it. Shes adaptable. So expect her to hold her own when confronted with a fight, because she very much doesn't need saving from someone else (Although for Barricade she may make an exception) So expect a physically strong competent OC who may or may not be a bit of a ditz. She really needs to stop touching stuff.

Also, please don't ask why I didn't put this in crossovers. Because I didn't. Aside from Kurama and her being a shinobi, there isn't really going to be much Naruto things aside from maybe characters mentioned (but that may be unlikely) It will be mentioned in each chapter that hints of Narutoesqe stuff will added, such as chakra and whatnot.

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


	2. Sad Machine

**Sad Machine by Porter Robinson**

Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

 ** _Chapter Two: Sad Machine_**

 _Is anyone there?_

 _Who survived?_

 _Somebody new?_

 _Anyone else but you_

 _On a lonely night_

 _Was a burning light_

 _A hundred years, we'll be born again_

The Storm lasted for three days and in those three days, Aurorah learned two things about her giant metal companion.

One, he was grumpy. Well, grumpy was maybe putting it lightly but he was definitely rude. She'd tried talking to him on several occasions in order to fill the silence and get to know him. Being cooped up in the warehouse was boring, and the metal being - Mech as he told her, or snapped really, when she kept calling him a tin can - didn't help when all he would reply to her with was growls and "Shut up Fleshbag." Aurorah didn't bother going near him, as whenever she tried to so she could get a better look at him, he visibly vibrated with ill intent. So she was forced to stay in a corner away from him, only talking when the silence got too stifling. And if talking happened to annoy him and garner even a smidge of banter from him, then all the better for her.

He actually reminded her a lot of Kurama in a way, though the fox was not thrilled by her comparison in the least.

And two, well, Aurorah found this one out through the sheer testament of her stupidity. He was injured. Badly. During most of the three days, he seemed to stay wide awake, never taking a nap or going to sleep at night. Though he didn't bother with her unless she bugged him first, he did keep an annoyingly close eye on her. She could feel his crimson gaze watching her at all times. It was close to the end of the third day that he finally seemed to succumb to exhaustion and fell into a deep slumber. He may have been keeping an eye on her but she was doing so in return. She felt it prudent to know about her giant 'friend' and not a sound he made escaped her. So she was surprised and maybe a little giddy when his breathing -or venting as she would later learn- evened out and slowed, hopefully meaning he had dropped into sleep.

Against better judgment and the warnings of her kitsune companion, Aurorah crept stealthily up to the giant mech. When she finally got him into better light, she found he was extremely filthy and covered in a strange oozing blue liquid. Concerned, she tapped him hard a few times with her foot and when he didn't respond in any way she proceeded to jump up on his metal body to get a better look. When she reached his chest she was horrified at what she saw.

Though Aurorah had next to zero knowledge on robots, even she could tell his body was mangled far beyond what it probably should be. On a human, the gashes on his body would be considered severe and would warrant an immediate trip to a medic. Why he hadn't seeked one out was anyones guess. But she could tell that he at least tried to patch himself up as uneven and discolored metal covered areas of his body. They must have been robot bandages or something, but they didn't seem like they were holding very well.

Aurorah recalled that he barely moved since she had arrived, attesting to the fact that he must of been in a lot of pain. Did robots even feel pain? Bah, it didn't matter. What did, was that this mech was hurt and she would do whatever she could to help him.

Regardless of whether he wanted her to or not.

With resolve settled, Aurorah decided the first course of action was to wash him. The grime and ooze would inhibit the healing she was about to force on him. It helped that he was asleep, as she was sure he'd protest greatly. In fact he would probably protest about everything she planned to do for him. Honestly, she didn't care. In her home, she was considered a medic, a healer to her people and to those in need. This guy, no matter how grouchy, was in need of her services and she planned to provide them. And if he even tried to go through with any of the threats he threw at her the last few days, he'd find she was far more than some weak bellied fleshie.

After washing him down though, she would have to wait for him to wake up. Despite being proficient in knowing all there was about the human body, this guy was anything but human. He was human in shape - sort of - but that was as far as the physical similarities she could see went. He would need to give her some guidance. He may not be a medic but from the fairly decent patch job he did on himself, she had to guess he knew some minor details about his innards. It would do.

So she washed him. It took careful manipulation of a simple water jutsu but it did the trick. By the end he was less dirty and no longer covered in dried and fresh blue liquids. Aurorah was going to take a guess and say that the stuff he was leaking was his blood.

She went about wiping out grime and debris from the wounds and taking stock of each one that he had. A thought came to her then. She wondered; could her healing chakra work on him? He was metal but he was also alive; she could feel that from the ripples in the otherwise smooth surface of his plating. And Aurorah could feel he had an energy -she wouldn't say chakra because it wasn't that- but it felt similar in nature.

With that in mind, Aurorah concentrated her chakra to her hands. She was slightly alarmed when her healing chakra was a bright red instead of its normal green color. Granted her chakra was normally red, but when healing it was always green, indicating it would heal and not harm. Kurama insisted it wasn't due to him and she sensed no abnormalities within herself or her chakra. It was, for some strange reason, just red. Maybe it was a result of touching that strange shard. Regardless, with nothing wrong but the color, she found no reason not to use it. Aurorah placed her hands on a small wound located on his abdomen and pushed the chaka in gentle waves. She was pleased when it seemed to work and she gave a small cheer. It wasn't as fast and efficient as it would be on a human, and it looked to take a very hefty chunk of chakra, but it worked. She could see the black metal stitch together, if painfully slow.

She was in the middle of pushing more chakra into another wound when she felt the shifting beneath her. Instead of jumping off and running as far from the mech as she should have, Aurorah grabbed hold of the front of his armor, staying resolutely in place. It took all but a second for the creature to wake and spot her latched onto him and his growl was furious. He knew she had been doing something to him.

"What have you done fleshling." he snarled. He didn't stand but his hand swiftly went to try and pluck her from his body. She allowed it, feeling sharp metal fingers squeeze around her soft middle. He was not gentle but he didn't hold her to the point of not being able to breath. It was just slightly painful. A warning.

"Well, first of all, it's Aurorah. Not fleshling, not squishy and certainly not meatsack. Or any of your other degrading words for humans you keep in your repertoire. Just Aurorah. And second," she gestured to his injuries. "I was trying to patch you up. You know, because you were sitting there, bleeding all over the place." she grumbled. Her attitude earned a tight squeeze and she heaved a deep breath, glaring at him for his rude handling. He only sneered at her with sharp teeth, his growl reverberating in her bones.

"Look, you're obviously hurt. You let me stay here when you could have thrown me in the rain. The least I can do in return in try and heal you." she tried to reason. The mech continued to glower but his interest was peaked.

"And what would a...human...know of healing someone like me?" he questioned, pulling her closer to his large and very sharp face. The gruff and electronic quality of his voice sent tingles through her body.

She shrugged. "Honestly nothing. You're a giant robot, mech thing that looks vaguely human. But what I do know is, my healing chakra works on you."

"Healing chakra. What is that?"

Aurorah wiggled her arm, silently asking the mech for room enough to pry her arm from his hold. He allowed it and she brought her hand up to face him, focusing red chakra into it. His eyes blinked in surprise as she wiggled her fingers at him.

"This is chakra. It's a life force of sorts. I can manipulate it, allowing me to do all sorts of things, from fighting, argumenting my strength, walking on water, even healing." It was a crude description, but she got her point across. She never was any good at explaining things.

The mech peered curiously at her hand and with surprising gentleness, grasped her wrist in two large fingers. "Such a potent energy..." he twisted her wrist this way and that, like a curious child. She could feel a brush of his own energy against hers, like a warm caress. "And you say you can heal me with this?" he sounded doubtful, which Aurorah didn't really blame him. She had been too at first.

"Yeah. I wasn't sure at first, you being different then me and all but it works…."

He noticed her slight hesitation and narrowed red optics. "What?"

"Its very time consuming and takes a lot of chakra. I have much more than the average person so it's really no big deal, but it will still take some time to heal you completely." She smiled up at him, large triangle ears back against her head and long tail curled; mischievous and vulpine like. He frowned, knowing exactly what she was getting at.

"It would mean I would have to indulge your company longer than the allotted timeframe I gave you previously." He grumbled, eyeing the strange furry appendage that twitched against his hand. He'd never seen a human like her. "A sly thing aren't you."

Aurorah laughed. "Not really. I'm the least sly thing you'd probably find. But when you put it that way, you make it sound like I had some ulterior motive this whole time."

"Doesn't everyone." He didn't phrase it as a question but as a fact. She pursed her lips and tilted her head.

"Not everyone. I don't. I honestly hadn't thought about the fact I'd have to stay longer then you had allowed when I first started trying to heal you. I'm a medic. I see someone injured, I heal them. Simple as that" She rolled her eyes and looked around in thought. "But, if it bothers you, I can leave and come back only to help."

He regarded her wearily. Aurorah actually hoped he let her stay. In all honesty, she didn't have anywhere to go, at least not right now. She didn't even know where she was, if she was even still...in her own world. She'd pondered that. The possibility that she'd been thrown into another world. Different dimensions weren't a thing of fantasy. But she had never heard of them being entirely different worlds. Just pockets of alternate space one could transport to.

A few seconds more of staring and the mech vented heavily. The action seemed to jar him slightly and an obvious flash of pain crossed his features. He bent forward, placing her down on the ground before roughly leaning back, his metal plating grinding against the wall.

"Fine, you may stay and tend to my injuries."

And suddenly Aurorah got the feeling this mech was tired, and not just in a physical sense. He was mentally tired. She could feel defeat and sorrow hanging from him like dense cobwebs. He was battered and worn. She could only describe him as broken. He was a broken creature with no more will to fight.

"Since I'm staying longer, you think I can finally get a name to add to mr big, dark and brooding." she asked hesitantly, peering up at him with a charming smile. Or as charming as she could be. Truthfully she probably looked like a lopsided idiot. The mech must have been able to read minds and agreed with her inner thoughts, because he gave her a heavy eye-roll and an exasperated sigh.

"Barricade, my designation is Barricade."

* * *

I hope Aurorah and Barricade's interactions where alright. He's honestly trying to be a fierce decepticon but he doesn't really have it in him. And he's lonely. But that doesn't stop him from being a grumpmeister. Aurorah isn't afraid of him and she's more then willing to deal with his attitude.

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


	3. Have You Ever Felt?

The song for this chapter is: **Have you ever Felt? By Ill Niño**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Three: Have You Ever Felt?_**

 _I don't want to sound insane_

 _But I can't take the pressure_

 _Have you ever felt the same?_

 _Like you just need to run away_

"Slaggit to the pit girl, that hurts." Barricade ground out as he felt a wire being pinched and soldered in his side. The human growled irritably at him, leveling him with a sharp blue glare. He gave her a stern warning growl, but she ignored him, flipping her hand up and directing only her middle finger at him. That one had surprised him and a quick search of the internet told him she had basically told him to fuck off. The nerve of her.

It honestly wasn't the first time he'd had to deal with being repaired without sedatives and it certainly wouldn't be his last. But this pit spawned human could probably make even Megatron shed a tear with her terrible repair job. It wasn't that she was incompetent, far from it actually. She was doing much better than he had been doing for himself but by the allspark was she ruthless. Tearing away at things here and there without a care in the world. She wasn't gentle at all. He'd take Hook and even the autobot's medic Ratchet anyday over this.

She had taken to the information he had given to her about his species biology surprisingly fast. He'd given her a datapad on all the medical data he had -there was a brief period where he had to show her how to use the thing- and she had sat for hours pouring over it, occasionally asking questions and writing notes in a rolled up piece of paper. Once she was done, Barricade became what she called her personal guinea pig and he was having serious doubts about ever agreeing to letting her treat him.

She poked and prodded him for hours, muttering under her breath as she would look to her notes and then his frame. The little strange ears on her head twitched with her ramblings. She was memorizing his form he gathered, trying to figure out how best to tackle the process that was healing him. As her hands roamed over his overtaxed sensory areas, he could feel the soft brush of her foreign biofield as she let her chakra soak into wounds she deemed needed immediate repair. It was warm and inviting, lulling him into a calm comfort. That is, until she was back to poking at him.

And that's how it was for awhile. Poke, prod, sooth repeat.

It wasn't till later the next day that she inquired of him of a place that she could gather supplies. Her chakra could only go to far, and if she used only that, then the process would take forever. She had said she could also heal him the way the datapad said to do so without the need for chakra, but she needed the tools. He had agreed, giving her the coordinates to the nearest town, and with a list of things she needed, she had been on her way.

And then he realized, humorously, that she hadn't been speaking to him in english. She didn't know this country's language.

It was funny, until she stormed back into the bunker like a pit creature, arms filled with supplies and seething, her biofield lashing angrily. She blamed him for not telling her the natives didn't speak her language and he told her she never asked. His blatant disregard towards her landed him right into the hot spot of her unforgiving hands as she set to work on his repairs.

And here he was, cursing up a storm and complaining worse than Starscream. Barricade was so glad none of the decepticons were here to see him. He would never live it down.

* * *

Aurorah looked up at the fussing mech, pulling a large piece of glass from under delicate plating. There was a brief pause, as relief soaked in then another curse as she soldered the wire that had been cut by the glass back together.

"Oh would you stop being a giant man-child. I'm barely touching you." she snapped, and non to gently pushed the skewered plating back into it's proper place, covering fragile wires. A small yelp came from the mech and then the usual grumble and glower when Barricade realized he had made such a sound.

"Fraggit, aren't you human women supposed to be soft and gentle." he gripped, bristling like an angry cat.

"I'm not that sorta women." Aurorah smiled sweetly, but to calm the temper just a bit, she soothed the big mech with a bit of chakra. She listened as his engine rumbled and then taper off into a satisfied purr.

It was cute really. Humans in general never had much of a reaction to healing chakra aside from the relief of no more pain. But Barricade was different. Every time Aurorah pushed healing chakra into him, he turned into a giant purring pile of metal. She figured it had something to do with his EM field as when her chakra came into contact with it, she could feel the rippling energy surrounding the mech react in kind. She shivered as she felt the now familiar sensation of his energy. It ghosted feather light touches over her skin in it's curiosity, leaving goosebumps in its wake. She wondered if he realized he was even doing it.

Kurama grumbled within her mind, unpleased with the foreign energy that made contact with her, tangling itself with their chakra. It made him even more upset when Aurorah would ignore his warnings to push it away. Instead, she basked in it, allowing it to soak into her, taint her.

And in turn taint him.

Aurorah wasn't unaware of Kurama's anger, but she felt it unjustified. Barricade was loud and grumpy, but his energy was never harmful. Curious perhaps, pleased at times, but never violent. So she let the mech explore her if he wished, brushing off Kurama's concern. Had there been any reason to believe she was in danger, the fox would not give into her so easily. For now, he was simply displeased.

She backed away from Barricade once the small area was sealed up nicely. There was a low hum of disappointment as the mech shifted beneath her. She bit her lip to hide the smile that threatened to break out. Barricade would not be happy if he knew she heard him and found it funny.

Taking a step back and turning, she hopped down from her perch on his thigh. She wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve feeling hunger well in her stomach. It had been a pretty long day and she was due for some food.

Aurorah turned to Barricade, the mech slouched against the metal wall with one knee up and his arm resting upon it. He looked completely nonchalant but she knew better. He was still in immense pain.

"I'm gonna go to the town. I'm out of food supplies and need to get more." she said, turning to leave. She heard Barricade chuckle. She ignored his jab, she knew he was laughing about her inability to understand the locals. But Aurorah had no intention of speaking to them this time. The last time she had went into the town, she had not only realized she couldn't speak to anyone, but that their currency was different as well. It cemented the idea in her head that she was no longer in her own world. Either that or very far from the elemental nations.

So she had had to resort to stealing. Not ideal in her book, but she had no choice. With one last glance into the warehouse -Barricade seemed to be powering down for some rest- she headed out.

* * *

"So, all the decepticons have been accounted for correct?" Optimus Prime asked. The prime stood tall, regarding his scout and the human military captain, William Lennox.

"That's right Prime, all but Barricade." Will replied, turning to Bumblebee to make sure. The scout nodded. They had looked everywhere for the wily shock trooper. Bumblebee had remembered the mech had been leading the troops into mission city, but after that, not much. Ironhide later said he had tangled with him briefly, injuring him with a shot to his chest and had thought he was offline. But that was apparently not the case when they had went looking for the downed decepticon to bring him in. Barricade had not been where Ironhide had left him.

This had infuriated the weapons specialist. The idea that a decepticon had survived his cannons. But Bumblebee knew Barricade. Knew the mech was just as scrafty if not more so then Starscream. There were reasons he was so highly valued in the decepticon army. It was also why it was important to find him. Such a dangerous deception wondering about unaccounted for could spell trouble.

But the fact that Barricade -according to Ironhide- was injured, was a good thing. It meant he couldn't have gotten too far. And with no other decepticons or medics around, Barricade would eventually have to come out of hiding. He would need repairs and fuel. No matter how good he was, he just needed to slip up once and they would be on him.

* * *

When Aurorah had returned from gathering supplies, she had decided it was high time she took a bath. She was covered in dirt and sweat and whatever else she had accumulated while working on the giant cybertronian. Barricade had even made it known to her that he found her smell undesirable.

"Your personality is undesirable." She quickly evaded the large scrap of metal hurdled her way. "You also smell just as bad so don't start on me." another metal scrap hit the wall just to her left.

"You better learn to watch your tone human." he growled. "Just because I have allowed to you to live does not mean I won't change my mind and kill you."

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the warehouse. And who would fix you when I'm gone, the forest animals?" she rummaged through a small stack of clothes she had with her, looking for something loose and easy to wear. She settled on a pair of shorts and an oversized t-shirt. She fished out some undergarments and bandage wrap from her storage scrolls and bundled them all up in a towel along with some soap she had stolen. She was very glad this world seemed to have a lot of the things she was used to back home.

"Just admit it, I'm growing on you." She chirped, turning around to the grumpy mech.

Barricade rolled his optics. "Like a bad case of cosmic rust." He grumbled. Aurorah narrowed her gaze at him for a second, contemplating his words. She pointed at him.

"Did you just compare me to some sort of metal-eating space bacteria?" A raised eyebrow ridge from the mech indicated he did. "Oh it doesn't matter. It just means I'm really hard to get rid of, remember that."

She turned on her heel, leaving Barricade to mutter about weird humans.

* * *

The chapters have been sorta light hearted now, but future shit is soon to happen.

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


	4. Before the Storm

No song for this chapter. None that I listened to fit.

Anyways, enjoy.

* * *

 _ **Chapter Four: Before the Storm**_

Aurorah made her bath quick, not wanting to soak in the cold water longer than she had to. She scrubbed away days worth of dirt and the energon she had gathered on her body and tail from fixing Barricade. When she was finished bathing, she tended to her shinobi clothing, cleaning the fur and leather and patching up any rips she could find in the kimono.

All the while she ignored the penetrating glare from Kurama. She had summoned him - albeit in a smaller more manageable form - wanting him to keep an eye out for any unwanted guest while she was busy. Though he did as he was told, his silence and gaze made it known he wanted to speak, not play guard duty.

She kept him waiting, even knowing it would make the fox more irritable the longer she evaded him. Aurorah finished one last stitch on her garment before hanging it with the rest on a line above a fire to dry. Finally she turned to the large imposing figure of Kurama who laid nonchalantly behind her, paws crossed and tails strewn calmly around him. But she knew from the bubbling feeling in her mind and soul that he was anything but calm. He wasn't angry but he was definitely annoyed with her.

She gave him her best smile.

He rolled his eyes and went straight to the point. "You have spent too long playing with your new friend, it is time we left. We need to try and find a way back."

Aurorah's smile faded and turned to a frown. She crossed her arms. "You just don't like him."

"How I feel about him is irrelevant Kit, but staying here playing nurse maid is not going to get us home."

She sighed. She knew that, but the thought of leaving the mech stranded in the forest injured and unable to properly leave left a sour feeling in her stomach. "Yeah well, I can't just leave Barricade on his own. He's hurt."

"He's not any of our business."

"Yes he is. He's my business, I made him so. I promised to help him and I will. Plus, where do you suggest we go? We have no leads, nothing." she flung her arms out and made a circle. "We are in the middle of nowhere, in a place we know nothing about."

"Well we certainly aren't learning anything about this place sitting in a metal box." Kurama growled and lowered his head to her level, teeth bared.

She curled her lip, her own sharp teeth baring back. "Barricade can help us."

"Oh, and you think your alien patient cares about what happens to you? He doesn't exactly reciprocate your friendly feelings."

"He's just grouchy, like you. He'll come around."

Kurama gave her a disbelieving look. Finally, he sighed. "Aurorah..."

She stomped her foot, interrupting the fox when a sizable crack appeared in the ground. "No, I am not leaving him and that's final. I will finish helping him and only then do we leave." She leveled him her firmest glare, one which Kurama returned. He didn't like it, she knew, but she was set in her decision. She would not abandon Barricade.

Kurama snapped his head to the side, a sneer on his features. "Whatever, do as you please. But you better not get us killed."

* * *

"You are different."

Aurorah looked up from her scroll when she heard Barricade address her. He had still been awake when she returned -she had thought for sure he would take another nap in her absence- but he had yet to speak to her. He simply stared at her, something he did often when he was awake. So she had set up her bedding and lay down to read over her notes before sleeping.

"Different?" she asked. Was he stating that she was different then him. Because that was glaringly obvious. He was large and metal and she was small and fleshy.

"From the other humans."

Oh, right. He didn't know she was from a different dimension altogether. "Well, of course I'm different. Everyone is different." Even when the words left her mouth, she knew she was different. While the humans of this world seemed similar enough to her, she could feel their difference. The feeling of chakra she got from other people normally was not evident in the humans here. Even civilians in her world had small traces of chakra, but not one person she'd come across here had any. And then there was her physical differences. The long fluffy tail behind her and the ears atop her red head. Her teeth were sharper and more feral than a normal humans and these qualities led to a lot of difficulties in her life.

The mech shifted, metal grinding against metal and gears protesting the movement. She heard him hiss painfully and wished she could give him a more lasting relief for his pain. "Your energy is different."

"Everyone's energy is different Barricade."

"Not like yours. You can control yours, in a manner I have yet to see from any of the humans on this planet. None can do what I've seen you do."

"Uh…." She placed her scroll down. How did she go about explaining herself. She was terrible at explaining herself. But at least he wasn't asking about the physical stuff. "Okay look, I honestly can't explain why I'm different. Maybe I'm just more awesome than everyone else." She gave her best smile, but judging from Barricade's unimpressed stare, she wasn't fooling him.

She sighed. "All jokes aside, I really can't tell you. I'm still trying to figure it out myself."

"And what have you concluded so far?"

She snorted in amusement. Barricade was oddly chatty today. He hardly ever talked to her unless asked or provoked to.

"Why are you so interested?"

This seemed to irritate the mech, and metal plating rattled before clamping down. A low rumble of his engine filled the warehouse. Aurorah only smiled, reveling in how easily she was able to unbalance the poor mech.

"I am not interested in you human." Oh but he really was. He's wasn't at all subtle about his curiosity no matter how hard he tried to hide it. And his body language plainly gave away his emotions.

"Really, you could have fooled me."

He scoffed and picked at a piece of his black armor almost sheepishly. "Just tell me femme."

Aurorah cocked her head, smirking up at the rumbling mech. "Tell you what Barricade, since you're so interested, I'll make you a deal."

Barricade chuckled and eyed her curiously. "And why would I make a deal with you?"

"Because you're the one poking around for information about me. And from the source of your interest no less." She shrugged her shoulders and picked her scroll back up. "I might as well get something useful out of it."

He hesitated for a moment before asking. "And what would that be?"

Another tilt of her head, a swivel of her ears and she threw her scroll onto the ground and turned enthusiastically to Barricade. The mechs optics brightened and plating flared in his surprise at her sudden turn of emotion. She was beaming up at him with the biggest smile he had seen her make yet, teeth so similar to humans yet shaper and more feral. So bright and innocent, though he had a feeling she wasn't nearly as innocent as she appeared. But her excitement was startling and it made him just that more uncomfortable with her.

"Okay, so I'll talk, but you have to teach me that language the local people speak."

"You mean English."

"Is that what it's called. Well, whatever it is, I want to learn it."

"Why, I can speak perfectly fine to you in Japanese."

Aurorah frowned and poked her fingers together. "Yes but, I can't understand anyone else and it bothers me." She pointed up at him. "So that's my deal. Teach me English and I'll tell you about myself."

Barricade's optics shuttered closed and he vented. "Suddenly I feel this is too much effort for so little gain."

"Oh don't be that way. I have a feeling that if you don't get the information you seek, it'll bother you." Aurorah's bright smile was still in place and Barricade's optics snapped back open to glare down at the small human.

He growled. "Whatever. We'll start tomorrow. For now, tell me what I want to know."

Aurorah laughed. She grabbed a blanket from her bed pile and despite Barricade's loud and angry exclamations as she approached him, she hopped up to a spot on his thigh and settled down to a night full of storytelling.

* * *

He didn't know why he was doing it, why he was indulging this small human. Before, Barricade would have smashed her or any other human into the concrete without a second thought. Would have gladly drove into a group of squishies and not have cared one bit that he ran them over and splattered their organic fleshiness all over.

Maybe it was the loneliness. The war had certainly taken it's toll on Barricade's spark. He wasn't a sentimental sort but he was used to company. From the cacophony of mechs milling around the hauls of the nemesis to the annoying but familiar chatter of his late partner Frenzy. There had always been something, someone, in his life, even if it was an unruly decepticon lackey or the dying curses of an autobot. The quiet was stifling and he hated it and he so desperately wanted it filled.

Maybe that's why he allowed the girl to stay, to tend to his injuries, to tell him stories and rile his nerves with her backtalk. To sleep peacefully curled on him and to soothe his pain with soft touches and foreign energy. He needed her to fill that quiet void that threatened to consume him.

Honestly, he should have killed her, shouldn't have taken an inkling of an interest in her, shouldn't have encouraged her interest in him. But he was lonely, and he was old and tired. And she was all he had left now. She willing stayed with him, willing sought out his company, his...friendship, if he could even call it that.

He just needed her, wanted her, just for a little while. It was selfish of him, because she would be hurt in the end, but when did Barricade care about human feelings. When did he ever care about anyone but himself.

She was useful to him and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Aurorah looked around the store nervously. Several weeks of English tutoring from Barricade and he finally said she needed to go out and try her hand at speaking to the humans.

So here she was, browsing an autorepair store for supplies she couldn't steal without possibly getting caught but needed for Barricade's repair. She had donned a simple hat to cover her ears and a long coat to cover her big bushy tail. The mech had given her two small plastic cards telling her one was a credit card and that she could use it to pay for her things and the other -which she was surprised to see had her face on- was in case she was asked for ID. When she asked where the money was coming from he had only said from someone who wouldn't miss it.

"Excuse me miss, but can I help you?"

Surprised from her thoughts, Aurorah whirled around wide-eyed. She held back the need to raise her fist and punch whoever thought it wise to sneak up on her. She came face to face with a thin faced young man with wavy brown hair. His grey eyes were covered with round glasses. One long thin arm rose and he pointed at the objects she was standing in front of.

"You've been staring at those tires for a while." He said. She blinked and then looked at the tires. Barricade had said he wanted tires, claiming three of his where out of commission and that he needed new ones.

The young man continued to look at her and she realized she was supposed to reply back. She went over what he said in her head before formulating her sentence. So far, she was good at learning to understand english so the man's words made sense to her but speaking was a different story. Barricade said it made sense if she never once spoke another language other than Japanese. She was going to have a heavy accent and probably choppy English unless she really really practiced.

"This...I need three." She said, patting a hand on the rubber tires. The man nodded before grabbing three of the tires off of the large metal shelves and bringing them to the front one at a time.

"Will you need help putting these on your car?"

Aurorah took her two cards and handed them to the man to pay, not really understanding what a 'car' was but knowing she didn't need the man past their present exchange. "No, I carry them home...alone." That sentence didn't sound all that right to her but she couldn't quite remember the right word to use. Oh well.

"What, by yourself? These are pretty heavy." He said surprised, hitting the tough rubber that made up one of the black tires.

She tilted her head and then pointed to herself. "Very strong."

"Yeah, but still..."

"I will be fine." She took her cards back when they were given to her and turned to the three tires. She heard a gasp from the man when she placed one tire around her neck and looped her arms around the other two. She felt none of the weight. She gave the man a smile and headed for the door.

"Thank you and have nice day." She chirped before kicking the door open and slipping easily outside.

The man watched her go before shaking his head. "I don't think she was from around here." He whispered to himself before returning to his work.

* * *

"Bumblebee?" The yellow scouts optics snapped up when he heard his name. He found Ratchet staring at him with a frown. His head antennae waved slightly before lying down in depression.

"Still can't find Barricade?" The medic asked. Bumblebee shook his head. His voicebox was off as Ratchet worked on a replacement for him. Now that they had some time away from fighting decepticons and with the help of the human government, Ratchet was able to get access to extra supplies and materials. So now he could adequately attend to things that needed fixing that he had had to put off before.

It also helped the medic keep his head with the death of the late SIC Jazz and his inability to fix him.

"You know Barricade has always been good at keeping off the radar. I won't be surprised it it takes a while to find him."

Bumblebee's fingers gripped the edge of the metal berth, leaving dents. His yellow doorwings dropped. Ratchet sighed.

"Bumblebee, I know you are worried for your human friend, but if we take Ironhide's words as truth as to the extent of the damage that Barricade had taken, that con wont be doing anything for awhile. Could probably be in stasis to try and slowly repair the damage enough to leave. Could also be dead." Ratchet's hand went to Bumblebee's throat and he felt the medics fingers expertly fly through the delicate wires there. "Just keep an optic on your human, enjoy the quiet for a little as we may not get many other times to do so. And don't stress about Barricade." Ratchet gave him a stern look. "It will do you no good."

A sigh from his vents and Bumblebee nodded as best as he could with Ratchet's fingering digging into his neck. The medic nodded approvingly and knocked his hand against his head almost affectionately.

Before much more could be done on Bumblebee's throat, an urgent ping to their comms came through. Ratchet huffed in annoyance at being interrupted from his work but he and the yellow scout opened their comms anyways. What they heard made Bumblebee's whole body shoot upright, doorwings stiff and electric blue eyes bright.

: ** _The humans have caught onto a lone decepticon signal. It's Barricade._** : Optimus Prime's voice carried through the comms, clear and strong as always.

The con had slipped up, just as Bumblebee had hoped. And he was prepared to spring at the unsuspecting mech. Barricade would not get away.

* * *

Bit of a slow chapter, but just wanted to add some more interactions. Next chapter will start the good stuff. What made Barricade slip?

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


	5. Heavydirtysoul

**Heavydirtysoul By Twenty One Pilots**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Five: Heavydirtysoul_**

 _For me, for me, oh_  
 _Can you save my heavy dirty soul?_

"Barricade."

Silence. An attempt to ignore the human, before Barricade realized it was pointless and sighed.

"What girl?"

"Your injuries are healed."

"Yes, I've realized that."

"Then why are you still in so much pain. Why are you not getting better and only worse."

Red optics snapped down to look at the human, and a growl rumbling from his chassis. It had been days since she had finished repairing him, yet she continued to linger. He wasn't sure how many times he had to tell the insufferable creature he was fine. It was starting to get one too many.

"I think it's time you leave human." He said.

A look passed the girl's face with his words and he would not feel bad as a sadness placed itself there. Her hands fidgeted next to her sides, a habit he realized she did often, as if her body could not fathom not having something to do. Even in her sleep she constantly moved.

Ugh, he watched her far too much. Enough that her habits were so commonplace in his mind. "Look girl, you've done your job. I'm healed and you can leave." Why was he trying to placate her? He didn't need her, didn't need her clingy humanness that chattered endlessly to him and cared about him. That made the loneliness go away.

He growled, deeply and angrily. He was a decepticon for primus sake. He didn't need anyone to coddle him, least of all some human woman.

"But you aren't okay." She tried to reason with him, tried to change his mind. But Barricade was set in his decision. He wouldn't heed that small emotional part of him that screamed so loud that he needed her. Because he didn't, Barricade didn't need her. He never needed anyone. Except his mind kept telling him otherwise. But that was easy enough to ignore, to push to the back of his processors and tell it to shut the frag up.

He stood, an incredibly difficult thing to do despite the fact he was 'healed'. The girl's face had to look up further and she sucked in a breath. He never stood in front of her before. In fact he hardly moved since she arrived to his little hole in the world. The human came to just below his knee, and though he was not as tall as most bots, he still towered over her. He gathered the pain he felt and shoved it away, making himself appear as in control as possible. He glowered down at her, EM field flickering and then lashing at her dangerously.

Just as he thought, tendrils of bubbling red chakra wrapped around her feet and she backed away. He knew she could acutely feel his energy and that she would react in kind. Or at least the beast she said made its home inside her would.

It was still a weird concept for him to understand. That she was from a different world. A different dimension. A different planet he could understand but this. The world she had so vividly described to him, the creatures that lived there, were so similar to this human planet but yet so different. For one there were no powerful ninetailed foxes that were the size of a prime and could bring down mountains. That was only in Asian folklore.

But here this girl stood, that chakra she spoke of leaking from her warningly, wrapping around her protectively as if it had a mind of its own.

"I will not say it again human. Leave, before I make you." He snarled and he saw her shrink in on herself. He knew she was not afraid of him physically. But she was an emotional little thing and she had attached herself to him. And that would be a thing she would come to regret doing.

"You have served your purpose, have done your duty as a medic. Now you can go for I no longer need you nor do I want you here." he yelled, his booming voice shaking the metal warehouse.

Barricade's words had the desired effect. Her face contorted, at first not seeming to understand before disbelief and hurt settled there. Her lips pinched and eyes widened as they seemed to take a watery sheen to them, her little ears flattening against her skull. They stayed like that for a minute. Barricade staring red fire at her and the girl looking as if she was going to break and cry. Then she made a one eighty. Watery eyes turning hard and teeth baring as she made a very inhuman sort of snarl. Her ears still lay flat but her tail had bristled, making it look bigger then it was.

"You, you...peice of shit, tin can ass-fucker." Well that was certainly eloquent. Was it universal that medics were always so foul. Her mouth opened again but she couldn't formulate anything past curses at him. Instead she turned, packing all the things she had accumulated since her time here. Several times during her frantic packing she stopped to breath deeply, mutter to herself and then turn to him, ears flicking uncertainty. He kept his face and EM field unchanged, metal plating tight and unreadable, not giving her any reason to believe he wanted her here or that he would change his mind.

She huffed, gathering all her things together and sealed them into one of her storage scrolls -they were similar to subspaces, only they required a seal and a scroll to work- and tossing it into her large pack she had with her. Then she went to a chair she had used for the sole purpose of placing a blue garment -a leather and furred kimono - that seemed especially important to her. She put the top on first and then the wrap, holding it together tightly with a thick blue obi and a gold waist band over black pants and a turtleneck black tank top.

Fully dressed, she gave him another look. Barricade wouldn't budge, gave her nothing to latch onto. The anger had quickly simmered and all he could see on her was the hurt. But she never said anything, picking up her ridiculously large blade and quickly leaving, slamming the metal door behind her.

And he stared. Stared at the place she once stood and then to the place she had set up as her own. Were it had once been cluttered and full of crap she had either stolen or bought, it was now vacant. The only thing that reminded him someone had even been there was the dustless rectangle on the floor were the humans bedding had been.

Barricade waited, waited till she was good and gone, till he could no longer feel her, before he crumpled to his hands and knees, mouth open in pain and vents panting from over taxed systems. His fingers dug grooves into the cement as the pain lashed at his sensors with a pulsing intensity. Slowly, he rolled back and hit the metal wall with a crunch, one hand going to his chest and gripping the plating there tightly.

A system check told him what he already knew. That his body was failing him, his spark was fading. Outwardly he was fine, thanks to the girl. But his spark, well, that was a part of him he wouldn't let a human just play around with.

He gave a pained sigh, slumping further down the wall. Standing and arguing with the human had taken too much effort. But he had to make her leave. Couldn't let her see him like this or she would insist on trying to fix him. She'd be like a unremovable leach and he'd never get rid of her. It would do her no good either. She would struggle only to watch him die. He'd much rather do that alone.

But now that he was alone and knowing the girl would not be returning, he felt the creeping loneliness, the silence that always bothered him so much. The darkness was welcoming as he slipped into recharge.

* * *

' ** _You would have saved yourself a lot of pain had you listened to me._** '

During her flight away from the warehouse, Kurama had been blessedly quiet, something Aurorah had been grateful for. But now that she had stopped her running -and her disgusting crying- and had set up camp in a small hole in the side of a cliff, the fox was down and ready to chastise her on how wrong she had been.

She let her head fall into her propped hand as she pushed the logs of her small fire around with a stick. She pulled out a bag of teriyaki jerky and began eating, attempting to ignore the voice barking in her head. Food was a much better option than listening to Kurama's complaining.

She wanted to just ignore everything. Kurama, the situation she was in. And definitely the deep hurt that took root in her heart. Maybe she should have listened to Kurama. She trusted too easily, a fact she had been drilled about her whole life not to do. Don't attach yourself to just anyone, don't give your heart out to every stranger who says hi or patient that you treat. You are a shinobi, don't trust everyone you met. Trust gets you killed. But listening just wasn't her strong suit. And she had really liked Barricade. She had foolishly thought -through their interactions- that he maybe liked her a little too. In the end, he had used her. What was it he had told her in the beginning? Everyone has ulterior motives. She should have taken that as a sign.

But she didn't and here she was, glaring at the fire and cursing Barricade to whatever God he believed in. Aurorah wiped her eyes with the side of her black arm warmers. They were crusty and puffy from her angry cry and her cheeks felt stiff and gross. She rummaged through her pack, looking for a bottle of water. Two pieces of plastic slipped from an inside pocket and she looked down to see the two cards Barricade had given her. She stared at them before picking them up. She contemplated throwing them into the fire and burning them but realized that may not be the best idea. While it would have been satisfying to rid herself of the gifts he had given her -if they could even be called gifts- she knew this credit card and ID were important for paying for things. So she pocketed them back into her bag and tossed it onto the ground when she acquired her water.

An hour later -and several glances at the pack that had those cards- and her mind still couldn't pull itself away from thoughts of Barricade. Though he was a downright shitface and she was still upset that he had pushed her away, she was worried. Even though he looked healed on the outside, she just couldn't shake the feeling that he was still injured. As she finished the last of the repairs he wanted done, she noticed he had became more sluggish than usual. She would talk to him and he would reply slowly or not at all. She would find him deep in recharge more often than not and it worried her that he was holding out about how bad his injuries really were. He wasn't telling her something and she knew it was going to cost him. If there was something that was causing him to get worse rather than better, why would he not tell her so she could combat the problem. But she didn't push him, instead she continued to fix what she could. But it made her wonder if he would make it.

It was as she mulled over going back that she felt it. Weeks being cooped up with Barricade had made her attuned to his energy signature and she was positive she felt a brief but strong flare of it. She had come to realize that Barricade kept his EM signature tightly wrapped around himself. Aside from his curious prodding he did to her chakra, he never let it flare too much or too far. When she'd asked about it, he told her there were people he didn't want to be found by. Which was understandable. Had she had enemies and was injured, she wouldn't want to be found either. In fact, learning to hide your chakra signature was something every shinobi learned. Not being found could mean the difference between life and death. And a lot of missions depended on getting in and out without being noticed.

Another flare and she started to worry. Kurama argued vehemently not to go. Barricade made it known he no longer needed her and so he was no longer her problem. He was right, but still. It just felt wrong to leave Barricade. What if he died and she could have prevented it.

"Damn it!" she growled. Aurorah stood and kicked sand onto the fire to burn it out. She tossed her water and jerky back into her pack and hoisted it onto her shoulders. She hadn't gotten far from the warehouse and so with a burst of speed she made her way back. The closer she got, the more desperate the flares of energy became.

Pain. That's what she felt from the flares. Pain and a desperate need. She shouldn't have left. She knew he was more injured than he let on and she should have been more firm in her stance to stay and help him. He wouldn't have fought her too hard with how much pain he was in. She could have won him out but she let his cruel words get to her.

Aurorah didn't know what to expect when she got to the warehouse. What state Barricade would be in. But her heart lurched when she ripped open the metal door -practically pulling it from it's hinges- and found Barricade writhing painfully on the floor, loud cries leaving his lips and sounding like grading static against her ears. His optics were wide and bright red and his hands grasped at his chest plates frantically as if he were suffering intense pain.

She was at his side in an instant, screaming at him to tell her what was wrong, how could she fix him. He answered her with garbled clicks and static and continued to claw desperately at his chest. Aurorah was frustrated as she tried to understand him, tried to understand what he needed.

Her attention kept going to where he clawed at his chest, scraping the metal and making thick scratches in the black paint. That had to be it. It was the one place he absolutely refused to let her tend to. Had he been hiding damage in there all along? She cursed him and began trying to persuade him to turn over. She couldn't check his chest while he lay on his front. When he didn't heed her words she let out another string of curses at his stubbornness. She was going to go through a lot of chakra today.

She quickly brought Kurama to the outside world with her through a simple summoning. The fox looked down at her and then at the writhing mech with narrowed crimson eyes. He was mad that she had once again ignored him to help this alien. She looked up at him, pleading with him to help with frantic blue eyes. He snarled, cursing the girl for caring too much and at himself for giving in to her too easily. He grudgingly agreed and with his help Aurorah was able to wrangle Barricade onto his back.

The mech struggled and Aurorah felt her heart crack at the painful keening coming from Barricade's vocalizer. Knowing what needed to be done and knowing Barricade would probably be pissed if this worked, she instructed Kurama to pry apart the black chest plates. Kurama's large clawed hands gripped black metal and pulled as carefully as possible. His face was suddenly awash with a bright blue light once the protective chest plating where out of the way.

Aurorah quickly jumped onto Barricade's body and stood at the edge of his chest. The mech still moved slightly, but was thankfully held down tightly by Kurama's massive strength.

Within his chest, glowing faintly, was Barricade's spark.

She had been told by him once when she inquired about it that the spark was essentially their life force, their heart and soul so to speak. Without it, they would die. She knew the spark was supposed to glow brightly but Barricade's spark was a faint withering thing buried in his chest plates. It looked as if it would fade out like a dying star at any moment.

Taking a deep breath, feeling as if she was making the right choice, Aurorah jumped down into the small flickering spark chamber. Her presence within it seemed to give the spark a bit of fuel as it brightened momentarily. Her gaze was trapped by the bright thrumming light and without really thinking, she reached a hand out. She wanted to feel it, to touch it. The spark seemed to respond in kind, tendrils of wispy light fanning out from its casing to greet her.

In the back of her mind, Aurorah could hear Kurama growling at her, warning her from doing something stupid again. She brushed away his concerns. She wanted to reach the light, the brightness that beckoned her. And when she did, she was swamped with everything.

Everything that was Barricade.

Her gasp was silent, her body suddenly feeling as if it was floating. Familiar red glyphs in a language she didn't understand started to form on her body, swirling and snaking up her arms and up her neck and face to her eyes. Her body pulsed in tandem with the white blue light surrounding her and a deep burning sensation built in her chest. Before she knew it, she was engulfed by the bright spark. She could barely feel Barricade shudder and moan beneath her.

All that mattered was the intense feelings and emotions washing through her body. The memories flashing through her mind too fast to make out. She could feel the pain that Barricade was feeling and she searched through the fog, locating the source. A jagged scratch, just barely scraping the surface of his spark but deep enough to cause him a slow death. It pulsed hotly and the spark quivered when she reached out to trace the angry wound gently with her fingers.

In the back of her mind, she could feel a presence that was neither hers nor Kurama's. Barricade's maybe? She was unsure. It hovered, curious and intrigued of her intentions. She regarded it, watching as it bounced within her mind when she touched Barricade's spark again. Was it encouraging her?

Encouraging her to do what, she was unsure.

Aurorah turned back to the fractured spark, its light fading and then brightening, almost like an SOS. She knew she had to do something so she summoned her healing chakra, hoping it would heal the wound as it did the others. Feeling Barricade's condition getting worse, she pressed her chakra into the wound. The red healing energy seeped into the scar, filling and spreading throughout the spark. His pain receded and she cheered when the wound slowly closed up, leaving behind a thin red line as the only evidence that Aurorah had healed him.

When all seemed well she retreated. The spark clung slightly to her, not wanting to let go. Her fingers gently pulled at the bright tendrils, releasing it's grip on her. It was still faint, weak, but she knew it was no longer in danger of expiring.

She tiredly hauled herself from Barricade's chest cavity, looking down once more at the spark. She smiled happily, a sense of accomplishment swirling in her mind. She felt she had done good. Whether Barricade would be happy with her once he woke she was unsure. But what mattered was that he was alive and he would stay that way.

* * *

The next couple of hours were spent waiting for Barricade to wake.

When Barricade had finally woken, he was confused. His chest plates had been closed but by the slight ache and crumpled metal he knew they had been forced open. It alarmed him. Unsure what had happened he combed through his recent memories. There had been pain, the wound he had kept from the human girl had gotten worse. To the point he had finally given in. He remembered suddenly seeing her at his side, blue eyes wide with fear and yelling at him. And though he had tried to reply all he could focus on was the pain. There was screaming and more pain and then...relief.

She had healed him. The glitch had jumped right into his spark chamber and healed him at the core. He could still feel a residual ache but it no longer bothered him as much. Any damage the casing had, had been tenderly fixed as best as the human's abilities were capable of.

But there was something amiss. An itch in his mind. Something was there that wasn't there before. He reached out, attempting to grab onto the foreign feeling in his mind. When he thought he had caught onto it, he was suddenly hit with intense fiery pain. He cried out and grabbed at his freshly healed chest plates, spark thrumming hot from the attack. He noticed the human shoot up from the corner she sat in and rush to his side, worry clear on her face. But Barricade only glowered darkly at her, moving abruptly to stand above her menacingly. He was suddenly aware of what was amiss.

"Do you know what you have done!" He barked harshly. He loomed over her, face coming in close and vents fanning hot air over her face. Barricade's consciousness was just on the edge of hers, lingering, but wary of Kurama who stalked close by, both physically and mentally, growling warnings at the intruder.

The girl leaned back, unsure of Barricade's intentions. "I...I don't know. All I did was try and heal you, I swear."

Her words only served to anger Barricade further. His fists slammed down onto the ground on either side of her, shaking the bunker with its intensity and causing her to flinch back. He snarled and proceeded to destroy the area, flinging metal and machine parts everywhere. When he finished, the destruction only partially satisfying his anger, he gave her a dangerous look, folded into his alt mode and pelted out the bunker doors.

* * *

:D Sometimes I'm a horrible person an I like it.

Made this chapter a little longer. Gonna try and do that for the other chapters, make them at least 3000 words. Wish me luck.

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


	6. Whatcha Need

Yay, chapter six. I'm super proud of how this story is coming out. I hope I continue to do well with it and more people come to like it.

 **Whatcha Need by W &W  
**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Six: Whatcha Need_**

 _Here we go again_

 _Whatcha need_  
 _Whatcha need_

 _When it gets a little_  
 _Hard to handle I'll be there_  
 _When the feeling's gone_  
 _And you can't go on_  
 _I'll be there_

The moment Barricade left the warehouse, Aurorah began to feel a distinct sharp pain in her chest. It pulsed and burned and she rubbed at it furiously in an attempt to make it feel better. No such luck.

Kurama paced nervously in her mind, his own thoughts on the events that transpired resounding in her mind angrily and giving her a heck of a headache. He had retreated back into her when he felt Aurorah was no longer on the receiving end of Barricade's temper. Now it seemed, she was doomed to be on the receiving end of his.

' ** _Stupid stupid girl! Look what you've done!_** ' more agitated pacing, tails lashing about. ' _ **Can you not see, we are bound to this, this...alien! He was in our mind Aurorah! In. Our. Mind!**_ '

Aurorah pinched the bridge of her nose and sank to her butt. The fox was all snarling and panicky, making him out to resemble the flighty animal their massive chakra had molded him out to look like. She didn't blame him really. It all boiled down to her inability to listen and her penchant for touching things when she shouldn't. But Barricade's spark had been so bright and welcoming even though it was dying. She felt as if she had been close to one of the stars that dotted the night sky and it had been beautiful and warm.

' _ **You are not taking this seriously Aurorah!**_ ' He snapped waspishly.

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh Kurama! I get it, I messed up. Can you stop screaming at me." she whined, falling backwards and laying flat on the dusty ground.

' _ **If I don't scream at you, who will?**_ '

"If no one was screaming at me that'd be a blessing."

' _ **Ungrateful child.**_ '

"And hey, if Barricade is suddenly in our mind, then why can't I hear or feel him."

 _ **'Because I am keeping him out were he belongs.**_ '

"Well gee, that's rude. It's not his fault..."

' _ **You're right, it yours!**_ '

She frowned. Kurama was not going to be mollified easily, if at all. Still didn't blame him though. It really was all her fault. But now all Aurorah could do was try and make the best out of it. And the first thing to do was follow Barricade to wherever he ran off to and have him explain exactly what they had going on. And if there was a way to possibly reverse it.

She was about to get up and head out when she felt it. Energy signatures, similar to Barricade's but distinctly different, closing in on her position. A moment later and she heard the crunch of debris and rumbling engines as they got closer. Along with them was at least a dozen human voices.

Aurorah quickly hid her chakra, drawing it to herself and shielding it. She jumped up to the highest point in the warehouse and waited. The sound of crunching ended and then the beating of feet stomping onto the ground. She slowed her breath as she heard them surround the building before converging into the gaping hole that Barricade had left in his hasty retreat. At least ten men walked in, sweeping the area with strange metal weapons in their hands and speaking to each other in clipped english. She was really glad she was able to convince Barricade to teach her english as she could make out most of what they said.

They stopped near the corner Barricade had claimed for himself when she was with him, and Aurorah noticed from her spot that dried blue energon still littered the floor- some even still fresh from earlier. They didn't move, talking into headsets to those who were still stationed outside.

She waited still and silently before an invasive feeling of being watched hit her. Her body tingled and her hair prickled as if someone was looking her over. She couldn't place where it was coming from but as soon as the feeling left, the humans down below all looked up in her direction, directing their weapons on her.

"We know you're up there. Come down." the man in the lead called.

Her entire body tensed, ears flattening and Kurama hissed within her. ' ** _How did they know I was up here?_** ' she worried, speaking to the fox within their shared mindscape. Not that she couldn't handle ten normal humans, but she was concerned what their weaponry did. She'd never seen anything like it in her world.

' ** _I am unsure. You must be careful._** ' he advised her. Aurorah agreed and placed her hat and coat on to cover her ears and tail. As slowly as possible, she jumped from her spot atop some unused machinery and landed silently onto the ground, hands raised to show she meant no harm. Though should they try to attack her, well, she'd have to defend herself now wouldn't she.

Aurorah just hoped it didn't come to that.

Her show of peace didn't make them lower their weapons, and she eyed them cautiously with narrowed blue eyes. One of the men stepped forward, the one who had yelled at her earlier to come out. He was bald, with dark skin similar to those who resided in Kumogakure. He wore camo clothing and on his bald head was a red beret.

He stopped right in front of her and gave her a once over. "Hey girlie, you know what happened here?" he asked waving his weapon loosely around the room. Innocently, Aurorah looked around. Her eyes spotting her khyber blade sitting on a workbench but she didn't let them linger, not wanted to give the men any reason to think she was dangerous. Her eyes came back to the bald man. "Ehhh, no." she said simply.

The man gave her a hard look. Whether it was because of her deep accent or that he didn't believe her she was unsure. But she seriously needed to get out of this situation and find that runaway Tin-can.

"I get here, and it empty. Hole in wall, smells old and blue stuff on floor. Was going to stay night and then leave in the morning." hearing that sentence made Aurorah cringe because she knew is was all wrong. But the man seemed to get the gist of what she was saying and walked back to the others. They spoke quietly and though she should have listened to them her mind went to how she would grab her sword without forcing them to use their weapons.

She was just about to decide on making a quick run for it when the man came back to her. He gave her a sort of pitying look before grabbing her arm. She instantly tensed, looking down at where his strong hand had a grip on her bicep.

"Sorry girlie, but the captain says we can't let you stay. We have to take you with us." he said and attempted to guide her with him. Aurorah let him get a few steps before lifting her other arm up and bringing it down hard onto his wrist, hearing a distinct crunch as bones broke. The man instantly let go with a shout of pain. She didn't pay him much mind and sprinted to the workbench where her sword and pack were. She grabbed them, turning around to see the other nine men lift the weapons to face her.

Aurorah gave them no time before charging them head on. She didn't want to kill anyone so she settled for using her fists and the blunt edge of her blade as a bludgeoning weapon. She disappeared and reappeared behind a surprised soldier, whacking him hard enough to painfully knock the breath from his lungs but not break his spine. The man coughed and dropped his weapon, falling to the ground and gasping for air. She quickly turned to the man next to him, swiping her blade behind his knees and pushing his feet out from under him. She gave him a good kick in the chest before he hit the ground, sending him hurdling into another man and knocking them both out when they hit the wall.

The men's surprise didn't last long, not that Aurorah expected it to. Four of the ten men were taken care of but she knew there were still others outside. As well as those strong cybertronian EM signatures. As least they felt Cybertronian. She had to make this quick.

Instead of taking out the other men, she raced for the door, dropping a smoke bomb in her wake. It was then that the weapons that the men carried came into action. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw sparks fly from the tips and loud, ear splitting cracking echoed in the warehouse. It made her think of black powder weapons that were becoming more popular with civilians in her world. But this was different, more constant and hard to dodge. She had to get out.

Aurorah was just about to reach the door when she felt something rip into her flesh and lodge itself into her collarbone. She wanted to scream but the shock and pain of the hit surprised her. Before she could move she felt another shock of pain as whatever hit her in the shoulder grazed deep into her side. She gasped, hand going to her side. She steadied her stance, hearing someone scream at the men not to kill her. Aurorah took that as her chance to get out. She pushed past the pain and ran out of the hole in the wall, punching a man in the face who attempted to stop her. She quickly bolted into the thick trees of the forest.

Once Aurorah felt she was far enough away, she slowed, tripping and falling to the ground. She sucked in a ragged painful gasp as the pain flared. She brought her hand to her side, both already slick with blood. She tried to heal herself but faltered when nothing happened. She tried again and screamed when still nothing happened.

"Kurama! Kurama what is happening, why can't I heal myself!?" she gasped, her voice panicky. She couldn't even feel the normal burn of her and Kurama's tailed beast chakra going to work on her wounds. Why hadn't she noticed before? The fox shushed her gently in an attempt to calm her. Tears pricked at her eyes as each breath she took sent shooting pain up her side and along her collarbone, neck and shoulder. Everything hurt so bad. What the hell kind of weapons did these humans have.

' _ **I am unsure why you aren't healing. All the chakra is there but it is not flowing normally. Perhaps a side effect of this new circumstance with the alien.**_ '

Right, her connection with Barricade. It made finding him much more importance. Maybe he could shed some light on why she wasn't healing, why she was in so much damn pain.

' _ **There is an object lodged in your collarbone. Will you remove it?**_ ' Kurama asked. His presence in her mind was comforting and warm as he tried to stifle her pain. It helped a little and she gave him a grateful pulse of love. Her affections ruffled the old fox but he didn't leave, instead wrapping her mind closer into himself protectively.

"No, can't do that. It would make the bleeding worse. I need it to stay till I can adequately heal this wound." Aurorah said and sat up, sucking in deep breaths. She unpacked her medical pouch and took out some gauze and bandage wrap. She was displeased that there was no antibiotics within and knew it must have fallen out with other essential items in her scramble to leave. The only things she had left were gauze bandages and a sewing kit.

Sighing, she gently remove the top half of her kimono. The shoulder wound was oozing slowly but the one on her side definitely needed to stop bleeding. She pressed a pack of gauze into her side and took the wrap and wound it as best as she could with one working arm and the other injured. She looked at the pathetic patch job. It would have to do for now. She put her things away and stood, using her blade as a crutch.

"Is there anyway we can track Barricade?" Aurorah asked Kurama. She was shaky on her legs but she knew she had to keep moving unless she wanted the group behind her to catch up. She holstered her pack onto her bad shoulder and winced.

Kurama huffed. _**'Yes. If I allow a small connection to form between us and the alien, we might be able to pinpoint his location.**_ ' he shrugged. ' ** _It is only a guess though. It may not work at all._** '

"Alright, do it." she said. Kurama nodded before she felt a slight shift in her mind. A presence lingered near the edge and it regarded them wearily. Kurama growled in warning, putting himself between her and the presence on the other side. It didn't seem to be interested in crossing over, only hovering just barely out of range. But Kurama felt suddenly pleased and she was given directions on where to go.

It worked.

* * *

Aurorah was feeling dizzy, but she continued to follow Kurama's directions and the pulling in her chest that said she was going the right way.

Her hand reach out to grip the wall when she stumbled. She had made it to the town she had frequented for supplies, but since it was dark, no one was really out. Aurorah really wanted to stop and rest, to close her eyes. In the back of her mind, Kurama firmly urged her to keep going. But his voice was starting to feel far away and unintelligible. The pulling and burning in her chest was becoming more insistent but she couldn't bother. She wanted to rest.

She took a few more steps, staggering into an empty alleyway. Without caring Aurorah fell to her knees and sunk down, sword clattering to the ground beside her and pressed her face to the cold dirty floor. The pain was starting to recede as her consciousness wavered. Dots of black colored her vision and she barely made out the crunching sound that rolled over to a gentle stop in front of her. It was the sound of a familiar and powerful engine that made her perk up a little and she looked up. In front of her was Barricade, still sporting the strange contraption he had turned himself into when he left. Her chest exploded with warmth at his proximity and the pulling and burning dulled into a soothing pulse.

She gave a dopey smile and lifted a bloody hand to pat the metal bars on the front. He was ridiculously warm and the rumbling of his engine reverberated through her body. It rattled the projectile in her collarbone and she hissed, fingers wrapping around Barricade's grill tightly in response to the pain.

"You look like slag femme." he finally said, soft and nonchalant. Aurorah wanted to laugh and reply, but everything was just too painful and she was barely staying awake. She heard a click come from Barricade's side.

"I need you to stand."

Was he serious? She gave her hardest glare, but in her state -face wet and covered in dirt- she probably looked anything but threatening.

"Stand!" he demanded, his voice deepening into a growl. Aurorah gritted her teeth and growled back. She gripped the bar tighter, grabbing her fallen blade and with as much effort as possible she pulled herself onto her knees. She panted, the pain assaulting her with each movement. She choked back on a sob as tears began to roll down her face. Barricade's engine gave an encouraging rev and Aurorah gulped in a deep breath as she brought her feet underneath her. Using Barricade as leverage she stood, legs threatening to buckle.

"Now get inside."

At first Aurorah was confused, but on Barricade's left side, an open door wiggled. Now that she could better see his new form, she noticed he had an interior. She made her way over to the door and looked inside. It was small and not overly spacious. Like a metal deathtrap. She made to back away but Barricade's warning hiss made her stop her retreat.

"We don't have time for you to act skittish girl. If you do not get treated, you will bleed to death." he pushed her closer to him using his door. She stumbled, falling haphazardly into a plush leather seat and she barely moved her blade away to avoid cutting herself. The movement jarred her wounds and she gave a small yelp and curled into herself. Behind her the door closed with a slam, but she was too busy wading through pain to care.

Even though Aurorah knew she shouldn't have, she let sleep consume her. Between the exhausting pain and the warmth that Barricade gave off, it was too difficult to keep her eyes open. So when darkness reached its hand at her again, she accepted.

* * *

Barricade didn't like it. He didn't like seeing the small human -usually so happy and carefree and shouting nonsense to him- curled into herself and crying as she bleed out onto his seats. The warm slick of her blood made him shudder and he picked up his speed. He decided to take her to a hospital in the next town. He wanted to get as far away from his current position as possible. He knew the Autobots and their humans where here, and he knew they would follow him as best as they could. Judging from the wound the girl had sustained, she had already run into them. Though why she had been hurt in the first place baffled him. The Autobots, Prime especially, were almost anal about their stance on protecting and not harming humans. So an accident maybe.

No matter. Barricade would get the girl somewhere relatively safe. He didn't know why she didn't just heal herself now like she did him, but that would have to be something he asked her later when she wasn't currently dying all over him.

As he exited the freeway, he switched on his sirens, wanting to get through any cluster the street might have that would stop him from getting to his destination quicker. It worked of course, cars veering off to the side and giving him a clear path. It didn't take him long at all to get to the emergency hospital and when he pulled into their driveway he switched his sirens off so as to not draw more attention to him. A police car pulling into a hospital was already going to garner some gossip and stares.

Barricade quickly brought up his human holoform, setting it to a more solid setting then his typical projection. He didn't like it, but it had it's uses, especially in tricking these gullible humans into believing he was one of them and a cop. Gently, Barricade picked the girl in his seat up into his arms and hurried to the entrance. He strode passed the sliding doors and hailed the nearest nurse, ignoring all the eyes suddenly on him.

"You, nurse! This girl needs help, she's been shot." he barked. His deep voice and presence must have spooked the female nurse some -she jumped slightly before turning to him- but she quickly shot into gear when she saw the state of the girl in his arms. She turned to the counter, requesting a gurney. After, she came over to him, going over the girl's wounds with gentle and efficient hands. Once the gurney was there, accompanied by two other nurses, they plucked the girl from his arms and placed her on the bed and wheeled her into the back. Barricade made to follow, but the nurse turned to him and placed a small hand on his chest. He looked down at her with narrowed eyes, holding in a growl.

"I'm sorry sir, but only patients past this point."

"What! Why?"

"Sir, its the rules. I'll let you know how she's doing when we are done." she explained, nodding to him before disappearing behind the doors.

Barricade's sparked lurched uneasily, not pleased with how the girl was no longer with him and in the hands of some strange humans. Maybe it was a bad idea to bring her here. What if the Autobots found them? What if the humans made the girl's condition worse?

No, she needed help, and Barricade couldn't give it to her himself. And she was obviously in no condition to treat herself. She'd have done so if she could. This was the best option. He growled lowly and spun around, stopping when he noticed all the curious eyes on them. He glared at them before parking his human holoform close to the door to wait.

* * *

Alright, so we get to the ansty stuff.

I am not all the great with action scenes but I tried. I also hope I'm keeping everyone in character. Writing an Anti-hero character is hard, but I'm doing my best. I want Barricade to come to care about the main female lead without taking away from his dangerous and morally corrupt personality. I have been reading a book on creating characters and there is this part about Anti-heroes. Barricade would fit between the bad boy and the reluctant hero.

Oh a small tidbit for those not versed in the Naruto world. Kumogakure is a village and the reason Aurorah compares Epps to these people in this village is they have a good amount of dark skinned people. Something not normally seen in other villages. It's not overly important but just in case you were interested.

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


	7. Destiny

New cover. Link to the full pic if you want to look: fav . me / dbeo25g

 **(Just remove spaces)**

Anyways, made some very minor edits to the previous chapters to coincide with Aurorah's new ref. Nothing major just some words and edited some spelling.

 **Destiny by Markus Schulz**

* * *

 _ **Chapter Seven: Destiny  
**  
So if we just can't get it right_  
 _Then maybe we'll try in another life_  
 _If I died in your arms tonight_  
 _Then baby I'll see you on the other side_

It was the pain and constant flurry of hands on her body that woke her in a state of panic. Eyes snapped open and the normal blue irises were blood red and pupils slit. Aurorah's hand shot out, grabbing onto the face of the first person in her line of sight. The man whose face she grabbed stilled, eyes wide in surprise. He held a needle in one hand and her gaze narrowed in on it before back to the man. With a feral snarl she brought the man in before tossing him into the medical equipment behind him. The crash alerted the others who were in the room and they all turned to her.

Aurorah glared at people and slowly they all backed away with their hands raised. She made to move, but her shoulder and side screamed at her in pain. She took a deep breath and hoisted herself into a sitting position, tail lashing angrily behind her. A pulling on her arm made her look down and a long IV tube was attached to her arm. She quickly ripped it out, not caring that blood began to trickle down her arm. It wasn't enough to worry about.

Wading through the pain, she hopped of the table she had been laying on. A man appeared, big and bulky. A guard perhaps, and attempted to guide her back. She struck fast with her fist, solidly hitting him the throat. He gasped, clawing at his throat as he tried to breath and falling through the door he had come in through. Aurorah only spared him and the worried people in the room a brief glance before stumbling as fast as she could past them and out of the room.

She must have been in a hospital, the white walls and personnel dressed in scrubs and white coats making it obvious. They all scuttled out of the way when she hobbled by and glared at them, baring sharp teeth and growling. One hand was braced against the wall, helping her move her along.

Aurorah looked up when she heard a commotion. A man dressed in a black uniform was barreling past guards and hastily pushing people out of the way without care. He was heading straight towards her and she tensed, preparing to defend herself before she heard the man speak.

"Idiot, what are you doing!" he barked, gripping her arms gently. It still sent a flash of pain and she flinched. The voice that came from the human was familiar and she looked up.

"Barricade?" she whispered, a little unsure as the last she saw of him, he was made of metal. She couldn't see his eyes due to the dark glasses but he nodded. He picked her up into his arms and she reached out to grip his shoulder tightly, fighting back tears as her injured shoulder smashed against his chest.

"I brought you here to get fixed up and you cause a commotion." he scolded, voice harsh and displeased. It made her smile faintly with its familiarity.

"I don't like hospitals."

"You're a medic and you hate hospitals."

"I've had really bad experiences. Don't judge me."

Barricade huffed irritably and soon they were outside. Aurorah breathed in the cool night air, trying to defuse the burning she was feeling in her body. The only comforting things were the warmth in her chest that had returned when Barricade was close and Kurama's near suffocating presence wrapped around her mind like a blanket.

Gently, Barricade deposited her back into his alt-mode before his human figure fizzled out of existence. The door slammed behind her, encasing her in warm metal and leather seats and he was soon speeding out of the hospital entrance and into the street. Lights buzzed passed them faster than she could keep up, but that was probably due to the fatigue and dizziness she felt.

"You've made this much harder girl." Barricade finally spoke up after a few moments of silence. Aurorah shifted in her spot before realizing it was a bad idea and stilled. Her breath was ragged and painful as she looked up to the circular wheel moving slightly.

"Sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it. Now what am I supposed to do with you?" He grumbled.

Aurorah laughed shallowly. "Just find somewhere with water. I'll...take care of it myself."

"You mean like you did earlier. If you die…."

"Aww, I didn't realize you cared so much."

Barricade growled. "Hardly." he veered to the left and suddenly the ride became much more rough, as if he was driving on uneven ground. Aurorah held back most of her grunts and moans of pain and gripped her shoulder and side tight in an effort to keep still and not aggravate her wounds any further. It did little to help. She just needed to get this thing out of her shoulder and properly tend to the wounds...the manual way of course. She'd be fine afterwards. She would just have to deal with the pain. Well, pain that was worse than anything she had felt before. And she been thrown through buildings and trees before. Why did it hurt so much?

Blessedly, Barricade finally came to a slow stop, engine quietly idling instead of it's deep roar. The door snapped open and he spoke.

"I've brought you to the water. Make this quick." he demanded.

Oh, well what a ray of sunshine this one was today. But that was probably the sucky circumstance Aurorah had unintentionally got him into. Stuck to her mind and then having to deal with her bleeding all over him was more than likely not his idea of a fun time. It sure wasn't hers.

Gently as possible, she slid out of the seats onto a dirt packed ground. Close to them, about twenty feet away was a creek which flowed gently. She breathed deeply, wincing slightly before proceeding to remove her clothes. It occurred to her that she was about to be butt naked in front of the surly Barricade, but she felt, as he was an alien, he probably didn't care about her body. That and she really didn't have the time to worry about either of them possibly being embarrassed about her lack of dress.

Devoid of the last of her garments, Aurorah went over to the flowing water. As quick as possible, she wadded into the water, her body immediately tensing and shivering. But the shock of the cold water on her body had it's uses as the pain momentarily took a backseat. She used that little time to assess the damage. Her hand roved over her shoulder and side wound, feeling the ripped flesh beneath her fingers. Her shoulder was red, inflamed and swelling, indicating infection was trying to set in and the skin around it was black and purple, bruising done from the impact the weapon had made on her body. Her side was no different, though the wound was more a gaping wound, the projectile having grazed her flesh deeply instead of lodging into her body. She was just glad it had missed any vital areas.

It was just her luck that her chakra was acting up. Stuck in a strange world, unable to heal or access her storage scrolls for more supplies then she had currently in her medical pack. She would have no antibiotics to apply to the wounds and she knew she would be facing several days if not weeks of her weakened body trying to fight off infection. The best she would be able to do is sew the wound close and keep it has clean as possible.

And what if Barricade insisted she leave or he left her out here once she was done with her wounds. Where would she go? She was alone. Barricade and been gracious enough with her and look where that got him. Roped into one of her typical shitty situations. She wouldn't blame him if he up and abandoned her to possibly dye in the strange world.

Aurorah shivered, both from the cold and her concerning thoughts. The pain was creeping back up as her body adjusted to the water's temperature. She took a deep breath, readying herself to take the the projectile out.

One last calming breath and Aurorah jammed her fingers into the wound. She cried out, body tensing and screaming with pain. She braced herself against a rock as she dug into her flesh, fingers rooting through tissue to touch the object in her clavicle. It was long and metal and she bit her lip as she gripped it the best she could. With minimal strength she ripped it out. With the object no longer impeded in her, fresh blood quickly started to stream from her wound.

God ,why did it hurt so much?

* * *

Barricade watched from the bank of the creek, listening to the screaming girl as she plunged her hand into her wound and ripped the bullet from where it rested. She briefly hunched into herself, wet tears spilling down her dirt covered face as her fleshy body shook with pain. Blood poured freely from the newly aggravated wound and he wondered, would she perhaps die from all of this. The thought did nothing to gratify him as it once would have. Was it because he would die with her?

No, he had been more than ready to die back in that warehouse before the girl had come along. Dying would not bother him. But the girl suffering, bleeding out before she succumbed to death. That didn't sit well with him. She certainly didn't deserve it.

Any other human, any other cybertronian and Barricade wouldn't care. Would let them bleed to death all over the floor and wouldn't feel a bit of guilt. But this human. She was...okay. She didn't bother him nearly as much as he would have her think and he didn't mind her company as much as he thought he would. In fact he craved it. He...liked her in a way. Liked her voice, innocent and playful. He wanted her to talk to him about things even if he didn't understand what it was she spoke of. He wanted to hear more of her world, of her experiences and feel that strange biofield she had sooth him when she was near. She intrigued him.

He wasn't sure if it was him talking, or this new bond, but he would go with it for now, see where it led. He had nowhere else to go. The decepticons were sure to forsake him, being so intertwined with a human, and the autobots...he held no love for them.

Barricade was derailed from his thoughts when the human finally emerged from the cold water, shivering, bleeding and soaking wet. Her thick tail trailed behind her on the ground like a soggy mess, accumulating dirt and twigs. She stumbled along, legs wobbly and her blue eyes glossy. He wasn't prepared for her to pitch forward, arms not even coming out to stop her fall, and landing solidly atop his hood with a resounding thud.

A wave of plating flared from the point of impact and along his body, the tingling of his sensor net alive with the feel of her naked wet skin and blood. He squashed the instinct to reverse away from her, knowing she'd fall to the ground in a heap and potentially hurt herself more if he did. Instead, he pushed forward gently, urging her to stand on her own feet. It took her a minute to gather herself. He felt her press closer to him briefly, probably drawn by the warmth from his engine before she was able to properly stand.

Her stability didn't last long as she tried to hobble over to the pile of clothes she had discarded, one hand grazing his side in an attempt to keep upright and leaving a trail of red blood on his black and white paint. Barricade could tell from her foggy expression and droopy shaking limbs that she was past exhaustion. She looked as if she moved solely on auto-pilot.

When she finally reached her clothes, she gave in and slumped like a heap onto the ground, hand digging into the pile and pulling out a worn looking leather pouch. She dumped the contents unceremoniously onto the ground without care. She pulled out a sewing kit and he watched as she began threading a needle and string into her own flesh, sealing the wounds to keep them from further bleeding. She made a hasty wrap job with bandages and gauze to keep dirt out.

Once she was done, she simply sat there, swaying slightly in her spot and staring at him. Barricade knew she wasn't staring directly at him but in his general direction. Her expression was devoid of any of her usual expressiveness, the mischievous smirk or cheerful grin he had become so used to seeing on her. Instead it was just empty. Her breath came out in shallow ragged puffs and he wondered briefly if she was going to stop breathing altogether.

Before Barricade could think much more on it, she wobbled and fell back, hitting the ground with a solid thunk. The next moment he was in root mode and hovering over her now prone body, prodding at her with a long sharp digit.

"Human?" He questioned. He watched her closely and could still see the soft rise and fall of her chest. So she wasn't dead, just passed out. He sighed in frustration, feeling forgotten stress and aches creep up along his body. As gently as possible, he picked up her small soft form in his hand, feeling as she shivered. Despite the shivering- which he knew humans did when they were cold- her body was hot.

Barricade was no expert on humans. What he did know he read on the internet when he first landed on this planet. Mostly unimportant things, culture, or the occasional definition for something a human said that he didn't quite understand. He didn't ever feel the need to learn human biology of any sort. He wasn't a medic and he certainly didn't care enough about humans to want to know how to fix them or help them. At least not before. Now, he felt maybe he should have had the forethought to at least peruse the subject just in case. Maybe then he would have been a little more help in this situation.

He cursed and folded slow and careful around the human as he returned to his alt-mode, depositing her softly into his backseat and turning his heater on. There was nothing he could do for her. She refused the hospital and he would be of no help. He could only keep an optic on her, keep her safe in her weakened state and see if she pulled through.

With the way she was now, he didn't really have much hope.

* * *

"Ma'am, can you please explain what happened, without yelling." Will Lennox asked as calmly as possible. The young nurse he was speaking to regarded him with wide green eyes, wringing her hands together. Will placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and he felt her sag a little, letting out a small sigh.

"Well, we got this patient, a young women. She was brought in by a cop. Two bullet wounds, one still imbedded and both bleeding pretty badly."

Will nodded, bringing the women to sit on a bench and motioned for her to continue. Her eyes went to him and then briefly flitted over the other military personnel standing around the waiting room before resting back on him.

"He was frantic, the cop. Maybe he was really worried. He became very agitated though when we took the girl into the back and told him he couldn't follow. Kept pacing and staring daggers at anyone who even glanced his way. He refused to speak to anyone and only growled at us."

"And the girl?"

"Pretty young girl, if maybe a bit strange looking. Wore the oddest clothes I've ever seen and had what I swore were animal ears and a tail. We took her back to get prepared for emergency surgery to remove the bullet. Didn't even get a chance to put her under sedation before she just bolted awake and tossed the surgeon clear across the room." At this the women gave Will a petrified look, grabbing onto the front of his uniform with a firm grip. "That's when I saw her face. Like the devil had possessed this girl. Such blood red eyes and sharp teeth. She shouldn't have been walking with how much blood she'd lost but she did and took a security guard down on her way. That cop was at her side in an instant and then they left just as quickly as they came in."

The women's hands dropped from his clothes and one clasped onto a cross dangling from her neck. "God help that poor girl's soul." She whispered. She turned to Will and gave him a quick nod before standing up and returning to her duties. Will stood as well, waving his men to follow him outside to where a group of oddly parked cars waited. A red and white rescue hummer H2, a black and yellow camero, a black GMC topkick and two standard military vehicles.

"So, what'd they say." A man approached Will, his hand wrapped with bandages.

"She was here Epps, but not for long. Injured two people and scared a whole lot more."

"Barricade was here as well. There is a very faint trace of his spark energy, though not enough to trace him." Ratchet said, his voice coming from the hummer.

Will sighed. "He must of been the cop. Confirms that the two are together though."

A low growl of frustration arose from the camaro and Will turned to Bumblebee. The young scout had been antsy the entire trip out here. No doubt due to the fact they were on to Barricade. Though the longer it took for them to find the decepticon, the more irritable the mech got.

"So, what do we do now. If we can't track him, do we just go back and wait for another blip to possibly appear." Epps asked, slipping into the passenger's side of Ironhide as Will got into the driver's seat. They both heard Bumblebee's engine rev loudly and tires squeal as he shot out of the hospital driveway and onto the road. The other four vehicles soon followed swiftly behind him.

Ironhide grunted and both his passengers looked down at the radio. "The Likelihood of that happening is slim. Barricade is going to be more careful than ever."

"I suggest we stay." Ratchet piped up.

"Why?"

"Call it a hunch. Barricade went out of his way to bring this injured human to the hospital, a place crowded with humans and exposing himself to the possibility of being caught. That human is still injured and seems to be important to him. He'll try and find another way to help her." he explained. Epps and Will looked at each other, both thinking along the same lines as the medic. Will then eyed the glowing dash.

"You think...he'd come to us?" he asked, hopeful and unsure all at once. It would certainly make things easier if he did.

"It's a real possibility.. Barricade is smart. With hospitals out of the option and more then likely unable to care for her himself, he'll resort to what he knows is familiar. What he knows will work."

"A cybertronian medic. You're sure about this?"

"I'd wager 50/50. He could just leave her somewhere and have us find the human. We're basing our assumption off the hope that Barricade cares about this human."

"He'll probably leave her to die. Sounds more like something the fraggin con would do." Ironhide remarked. "The human is as good as dead in his care."

"I don't know Ironhide. All of this is out of character for Barricade. We can't be sure of what he'll do as he's not following his usual pattern of behavior."

"A con is a con Ratch. Ain't gonna change for some little human femme."

There was a growling rev of agreement from Bumblebee. Ratchet's sigh was followed by Will's.

"Whatever the relationship is between Barricade and this girl, there will be no killing unless absolutely necessary. Optimus would prefer they be brought in alive and so would I." Will commanded. There was a collective 'Yes Sirs' from everyone, although none of them were eager. He knew they would rather kill the con, even the girl if she truly was a decepticon sympathizer. And while he understood their feelings, there were rules.

"Alright, let's find us a con."

* * *

Welp...

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


	8. Bridges

I had originally planned to post this chapter the day Transformers: The Last Knight came out but I didn't finish the chapter after this in time for that. I don't post a chapter till the one after is finished.

Anyways I hope you like.

 **Bridges by Broods**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Eight: Bridges_**

 _Now we're burning all the bridges now_  
 _Watching it go up in flames_  
 _No way to build it up again_  
 _And we're burning all the bridges now_  
 _'Cause it was sink or swim_  
 _And I went down, down, down_

He can't recharge. He really should, his systems were flashing warnings at him, red glyphs in angry red scrolled along his internal hud, telling him his systems needed rest. But he kept ignoring them. He couldn't recharge, not with the human quickly deteriorating in his back seat as the hours continued to tick by. She was shivering almost violently now, teeth clacking together as if she were cold, skin pale and clammy. He didn't know whether to keep his heater going or to turn it to the AC. Her body was burning and Barricade could feel it acutely through the sensitive sensors in his seats, could feel the pain like an echo in the thin threads of their new bond that he constantly tried to ignore.

A faint smell was starting to waft up from the human as well. It wasn't her typical smell, he knew what she smelt like when she was clean and when she wasn't. This was a new, foul odor, and a quick scan of her body -one of many he had been doing- and a perusal of the internet told Barricade that infection was settling into her wounds.

It only confirmed what he already knew. The human wasn't getting better and she wasn't going to unless she got help. But what could he do? The longer he thought on it, the clearer the only option became. But it was one he desperately had no desire to go through with either. Barricade's choices were clear though. Let the human die or turn to the only people he knew could help, a group he knew would snatch him up and lock him away the moment he went to them. Or kill him. None of those options sat well with him.

So it was either her death...or his freedom.

There was a pained sob from the back and Barricade's spark gave an uneasy and undesired lurch when her hand gripped the edge of his seats tightly, a loud cry leaving her dry chapped lips. Dried blood flaked off from her hands and sweat slicked her bruised and pale skin and in turn him.

All of this should have revolted him. Her disgusting fluids drenching his interior and fouling him up with its stench. And it did, to a degree, but it also reminded him how fragile she was despite all her previous bravado. Sure she had proved on multiple occasions that she had an abnormal strength compared to the standard human but she was still flesh and blood, still susceptible to that which would plague any other human. Her flesh still tore and bled when struck just as every other one of her kind.

Her condition dredged up worry within him. It was still such a foreign emotion to him, an unwanted one really. When was the last time he ever worried about anyone else but himself. The worry plagued him, pushed at him to help her even though it went against everything he was and believed in. A big part of him still screamed at him to rid himself of her. Kill her now while she was weak. She was only a burden and she was easy enough to do away with in her condition.

She was only human. She meant nothing to him.

Barricade should have just killed her when he first saw her. None of this would be happening had he not been briefly sentimental and needy. He'd be well on his way to the Well of Allspark and none of this would be his problem. He wouldn't have to choose between himself and this stupid girl.

He could just let her die. With her death, he'd eventually follow as well thanks to this bond they had formed. Then he wouldn't have to give himself to anyone, especially the Autobots. He wouldn't have to make the choice.

….

Primus dammit!

He didn't really want her to die. If only to satisfy his own selfishness. Barricade would keep her alive, and in turn she'd be all his, to do with as he wished. He'd never be lonely again and having a human around could be useful. His scanners roved over her body again, lighting her skin up in it's red glow. He catalogued all the readings in a datapack and then set it aside in his processors for later. He would need these reading to give to the medic.

Outside, one long cable slipped out from underneath the darkness of his undercarriage. The cable was thick and solid, like a long metal arm with slim little filaments, the tips glowing a bright blue. It slid over the ground before coming upon the pile of discarded clothing and medical items. Quickly Barricade took up the girl's belongings and pocketed them into subspace to join her other items of value. He didn't want to hear from her later that he had forgotten her things.

* * *

Barricade made quick work exiting the forest and getting back onto open road. As he speed down the highway, there was very little traffic for which he was thankful for and it was easy enough to track the autobots and their humans and set a course. They weren't even trying to be stealthy, their EM fields on display for anyone with decent tracking abilities to hone in on. Which made him think they were being deliberate in their blatant advertising. Were they hoping he'd find them? It meant they knew he'd come to them. It meant they knew the human girl was connected to him and that didn't sit well.

It made him nervous. He didn't like the idea that the autobots knew his intentions. If they were expecting him, then he would for sure walk into a trap. Barricade wanted to turn around and drive away. He didn't think of himself as a coward but he also didn't like being backed into a corner. He'd been put in so many corners lately. By the human, by himself and now the autobots. If he did this, if he went to them, he knew he wouldn't be making it out free. If they knew he was coming then his chance of escaping was next to zero.

A soft moan brought his attention to the back where his charge lay. Blue eyes fluttered open and her hand reached up to rub them tiredly. She didn't appear to mind the dried blood still staining them.

"Barricade…?" The human whispered, voice cracked and hoarse. A deep hum filtered through his cab in reply and she smiled.

"Where are we going?" She asked, head rolling to the side to peer at his brightly lit dash.

Barricade debated telling her before finding there was no reason to keep silent on the matter. "To get you help." He told her.

The girl was tense and silent. Suddenly she tried to sit up, but faltered with a pained hiss.

"Lay back down femme!" He demanded instantly. He heard her grumble a few choice words at him as she tried to bring herself up further.

"I told you..." she sucked in a harsh breath but eventually complied with demand and lay back down.

Before she could continue he spoke, "I know, you don't like hospitals. That's not where I'm taking you."

"Then where..."

"An acquaintance. Now shut up and let me drive." He snapped, tired and irritable. The situation was making him high strung and he just wanted out.

The silence was still tense as Barricade got closer and closer to the autobots signal. The human didn't fall back to sleep as he'd hoped, instead squirming, from both pain and discomfort. She'd wrapped the thin blanket he had procured for her before he had made his way out around her body. He figured she'd be unable to dress herself and she needed to be covered when presented before the autobots and their humans. Simple modesty wasn't just a human thing. Even cybertronians wouldn't want to be seen without basic coverings.

An hour later brought Barricade less than a mile away from the autobots location. They hadn't moved and the signal was stronger then ever. He kept his energy signal as tight to himself as he could, at the very least thankful for his proficiency in concealing himself. The autobots may have been expecting him, but their meeting would be on his time. They wouldn't know he was there till he wanted them to.

"Barricade...you're nervous." it wasn't a question. The human could feel his tension just as he could feel her pain. She shifted painfully till she was seated and he gave a half hearted growl for her to lay back down. She only laughed and patted the top of the driver seat.

"Can I have my weapon?"

"Why?" was she doubting his ability to protect her. Granted she had never bore witness to his fighting skill so she wouldn't know whether he was good or not. But she was injured and he was her sole defense. She didn't need to try and be tougher than she was in her condition.

"Because, whoever you have taken me to see has you on edge. I want to be able to fight...just in case."

Her reason was sound so he relented her large blade from subspace. He watched her bring it onto her lap and caress the deadly edge gently. The weapon was longer than she was tall and it amazed him that she was able to wield such a blade let alone in her current state.

"So, who is this...acquaintance we are meeting." she asked.

"Ratchet. He's a medic."

"And he has you nervous."

"Not him specifically. The group he resides with."

The girl looked up at his dash. "And they are?"

"Why do you ask so many questions!?" he barked irritably.

"Because I am putting my life in your hands." she said blandly. Barricade sighed. Of course, he'd do the same in her position. He had actually. When it was him under her care, all he did was questions what she did, despite know he was going to die. And she had answered him truthfully.

Carefully, his body started to unfold, making his charge within gasp. She looked wildly around before she was suddenly in open air, seated in his palm with legs dangling over the edge. She grabbed onto one sharp claw to steady herself, though there was no need to worry. He would never drop her.

"How do you do that!" she exclaimed, looking up at him with bewilderment. Her hand reached up to press against the warm metal of his chest plating, trying to figure him out. Delicate fingers traced along his grill, trying to find seams that had split and come together again. He hummed and wondered at her surprise. She herself had proclaimed to transform, albeit into the form of a large fox.

"All cybertronians are capable of transforming into alt-modes. Usually vehicle in nature." he explained. "Do you not have vehicles in your world."

"Nothing like what you turned into. We have wagons and horses, even air balloons. But most shinobi don't require it, we can travel fast enough on foot."

"Unlikely that you can travel as fast as a car by hiking it."

"You've never seen me run." She said with a grin.

True, he hadn't. But he was skeptical that she could keep a vehicle's pace solely on foot. He gave her a disbelieving grunt that only made her laugh softly. Despite her laugh, she still grimaced, as if doing so hurt.

"So, what's the plan?"

Her question caught him off guard and Barricade frowned. Despite the time he had getting here from their previous location, he had not come up with an idea on how to approach the autobots. At least one that didn't end with him face first into the ground and a cannon dug into his head by their errant weapons specialist. The most logical course was to hail them from a distance, giving him time to escape should it come down to it.

"I will leave you here. You wait while I approach the autobots." he should do the logical thing, but that wasn't like him. Despite his hesitance towards the situation, he had always lived a little on the edge and he needed their medics help. Running away wasn't going to get it. He was most certainly going to eat dirt, or even a fist and possibly some bullets, but he'd get to laugh that he'd thrown them for a loop. Those autobots never did like surprises.

"The autobots, are they the ones with this Ratchet that have you all in a tizzy."

"I am not in a tizzy woman!" he growled.

"You could have fooled me." she mumbled softly but her smile said she was pleased with his reaction. This pit spawn.

"Just do as I say. Wait by the trees. I will be back for you." he grumbled, bending down and placing her gently at the base of a large oak. She looked up at him, blue eyes piercing and he resolutely looked away, bothered by how she seemed to look through him.

"Don't die." she finally said.

"I'm not going to die femme."

"You sound like you might. And I went through too much trouble putting your dumb metal ass back together for you to die."

Barricade rolled his optics and heaved a deep sigh. "Primus sake." he pulled one last object from subspace, the heavy furred kimono she seemed to covet and dropped it into her lap. Her eyes blinked owlishly before she scooped it up into her arms and pressed it to her face despite the blood coating it.

"You didn't leave it behind."

"And listen to you complain. I would never."

"Such a sweetheart."

The cutesy name she had bestowed him was appalling and Barricade snorted and abruptly turned before she could notice how it bothered him. He was not sweet, he was practical. He made an effort to think about the consequences of his actions. And he didn't want her to complain, that was it. Otherwise he would have left her things there in the forest.

"Just stay." he demanded, standing to his full height. He gave her one last look; the picture of her frail, bruised and bloody body taking residence in the forefront of his processor. He would get her the help she needed. Then he would plan how to get himself out of the autobots grip. If they didn't end up sticking him into stasis for the rest of his foreseeable future first.

It didn't take more than a few minutes to get to the edge of the forest. He stayed behind the line of trees, hiding him from the eyes and optics of the group waiting in the clearing before him. They all seemed nonchalant enough. There were three cybertronians and a handful of humans. They all milled around each other, some chatted, while others cleaned their weapons. Three of the humans were playing a game of cards with the yellow scout Bumblebee.

Nothing was amiss about the scene, except for maybe the presence of the large imposing mechs. They appeared as if they had simply stopped to take a break. But Barricade knew better. His keen optics could see the tell tale signs in the cybertronians. How Bumblebee's posture was tense, his doorwings flicking with anxious energy. How Ratchet stood, pacing back and forth, optics scanning the field as if waiting for someone. And then Ironhide, the weapon specialist's almost precise and slow cleaning of his cannon. A calming coping mechanism for the old warrior.

They were waiting for him and it had them all on edge. As it should. Barricade may not have been the strongest of mechs, but his abilities did not lay in strength, but in his cunning mind. Should he desire it, he could make sure this meeting ended with at least the death of most of those humans and the autobots limping home with their own injuries. He may get caught or killed but it wouldn't be without causalities.

But that's not why he was here. Causing mayhem, while pleasurable would not get him the help he sought. So he took a deep invent and moved past the treeline, flaring his EM field and making himself known. The reaction was immediate. All three mech stilled before bolting to attention and priming their weapons, alarming their human companions into the same reaction. Every eye, optic and gun barrel landed on him.

Barricade would have smirked at the smell of fear that came from some of the humans, had a large black mass not barreled at him at an alarming speed. He dodged the heavy charge only to come face to face with the autobots yellow scout. The young mechs body was a quiviering mess as fists and feet lashed out at him. He had made the mistake of going easy on the scout in their previous battle, believing him to be weak, but not this time. He gave him his full attention, keeping only a little on Ironhide.

A punch to the underjaw and hard kick to Bumblebee's midsection had the mech flying back. Barricade turned, barely missing a jab to his head by Ironhide. While Ironhide's attacks were not as swift as Bumblebee's, the harsh blast of air that lashed against the side of his head was testament to the power behind the blows.

"Ironhide, Bumblebee, that is enough. We agreed to not fight." Ratchet's voice rang out in irritation, clearly unhappy that his comrades had resorted to violence. He hovered over the fallen scout, a heavy hand keeping him from getting up and rejoining the fight. Ironhide seemed oblivious to the shout though as his assault on Barricade continued. It was what he expected though. Ironhide was an act first and screw the questions kind of mech.

Barricade might have been able to keep dodging the blows, maybe even get in a few hits, but steady warnings that he had been ignoring for some time kept blaring incessantly at him. Low energon reserves, a lack of recharge, his spark and body still sore from his previous ordeal. What he wouldn't give for a glass of high-grade. Or five.

The next two blows hit their marks, one to the head and another to his chest. His body screamed at the impacts, plating denting and cutting into his delicate protoform and spraying precious energon. He staggered backwards but was stopped when another blow landed into his back throwing him hard to the ground in a cloud of dust.

And there was the faceful of dirt. A second later and large foot was dug into his back and the hot press of a powerful cannon was pushed to the back of his head. He wanted to say something snarky, maybe rile Ironhide a little more. But he felt doing so would result in his death. Already he could hear that cannon spinning, powering up even more. Maybe he was going to be killed regardless of what he said.

"STOP!" the desperate shout stalled any thought from his processor. The cannon on his head lifted just a bit and he was able to turn his head to the tree line. His human charge stood there, barely keeping herself up with the help of her blade. She had donned her kimono, using the thin blanket to keep it closed in a bunched up knot. The girl looked about ready to pitch forward but stayed resolutely upright, a defiant glare in red slitted eyes.

There was an irritated sigh before Barricade was hauled forcefully upright and onto his feet. "Lucky day con. Was just about to blow that processor to bits."

Barricade ignored the growling mech in favor of leveling a displeased glower at the human. Was she incapable of listening. "I thought I told you to stay woman."

"And I told you not to get killed shit head."

"Do I look dead?"

"No, but you were getting awfully close."

Before he could go off on her for even blinking, the humans had converged around them, pointing their weapons threateningly at his charge. He growled, earning a harsh shove from Ironhide.

"None of that from you con." he barked. Ratchet came into view and he lifted his hand, signalling the humans to lower their weapons. They hesitated, before compiling.

"Honestly Ironhide, was this all necessary? We could have gone about this without coming to blows."

Ironhide snorted. "Absolutely."

Barricade rolled his optics. His attention was brought back to his charge when she finally dropped to her knees. He pitched forward, ready to rush to her, but the strong grip on his arms kept him from being able to move. Instead, Ratchet took his place, coming to the girls side. A red light roved over her injured body as the medic scanned her. Worry colored the mechs optics and he sighed.

"You aren't doing so well?" he heard him say to her. She was quiet except for the painful breaths she took. "May I?" Ratchet asked, laying his hand out in front of her. The girl looked at his hand doubtfully before turning her gaze to him. Barricade gave her small nod, urging her to accept the medics help. In Ratchet's care he knew she would come to no harm.

She relented, nodding up at the medic. Ratchet gently picked her up, cradling her in his palm and bringing her close to his chest. He walked up to Barricade, giving the mech a scan as well before speaking.

"You've gone to some trouble for this human." Barricade didn't reply, but he didn't need to. "She'll be alright, I'll make sure of it." he assured and Barricade leveled the medic a deadly red glare.

"She better."

* * *

So yeah, they are now in the hands of the Autobots.

I hope I am keeping Barricade's character consistent. He's really hard to write but also very fun. I'm trying to show that he cares about the girl but that doesn't mean he likes the situation, or that he feels anything remotely nice about her **(Even though he does)**. If you haven't noticed by now, Barricade doesn't use Aurorah's name when he thinks about her or talks to her. That's mostly as a psychological thing. If he doesn't acknowledge her name then she isn't that important to him.

How's that working for you Barricade?

Also, question and opinion time. So, I have a general idea of how I was this story to go. It will follow the movies, as I really want to kinda rewrite the movies to my liking with my character and Barricade in them and remove some characters I either didn't feel were needed or just particularly like. That means Aurorah will be interacting with Sam and Cade when they finally appear in the story. She will build friendships with them hopefully. It really depends how they start interacting once I get to writing them together. I imagine Aurorah would like Sam and Cade.

So does this seem like a good idea to you guys, or should I scrap the idea of going through the movie and attempt a more original idea. **(Which...well, doesn't really appeal to me but I can try.)** Let me know.

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


	9. Incomplete

Ah, new chapter. Getting these done in a somewhat timely manner. Hopefully that will last.

No song for this chapter, nothing hit my fancy while I was writing it. Pretty much listened to silence the entire chapter, which I don't usually do. Meh

Anyways, people seemed okay with going through the movie plots with Barricade and my character added to it. I will try not to go through it word for word. It bugs me when reading that, so I don't want to end up writing it. All the movies will be covered, so that's a lot of content, plus original stuff added between them. Some things may be altered to fit the story and characters, but hopefully nothing people won't enjoy.

Here is a new story pic for your viewing pleasure: fav . me / dbf5gpe

And some Kurama doodles: fav . me / dbf6454

Anyways, enjoy the chapter

* * *

 _ **Chapter Nine: Incomplete**_

It took more than half a day to get to the autobot's base on a large island called Diego Garcia. There were papers to sign and chains-of-command to go through before soon Barricade was hauled in his alt mode into a large carrier plane. He was covered with heavy chain nets and tied to a rolling base to keep him from moving. Next to him the whole ride was a glaring Ironhide and twitchy Bumblebee to keep him company. At the very least the girl was getting the attention she needed.

Ratchet hardly left her side, setting her up onto a temporary gurney and hooking her up to an iv with fluids, antibiotics and painkillers. She did garner a lot of attention from the humans, probably due to her strange feral appearance. Every time one came to poke at her long tail that hung limply from her bed, he would rev his engine loudly, startling the human away from her. It earned him an harsh thump on his hood from Ironhide but he could deal with that.

Once at base, Barricade was forced into mech form and confronted by their leader, Optimus Prime. Despite Barricade's dislike for the autobots in general, he had respect for their Prime. It was well deserved. The Prime had on numerous occasions proved he was capable of backing his noble words with action, scattering Decepticon troops into retreat despite Megatron leading the battle.

It was because of that respect he held for the Prime that he lowered his head, avoiding looking him the optics and holding his tongue from letting out any sarcastic remarks.

"Barricade." Prime's deep baritone was so different from Megatron's harsh and grisly voice.

"Prime."

"You have proven most difficult to find."

"I'm good at what I do."

Prime chuckled at this, a sound that surprised Barricade into looking up. He felt infinitely uncomfortable and small in Prime's presence. From the strong pulse of his EM field that flickered against his, to the deep electric blue of his optics that held wisdom and sorrow. This mech was pride and power personified. It was no wonder Megatron felt so threatened by him. He was every bit his equal. The only difference was, he fought for the good of others even at the cost of himself. Held ideals that were selfless and just. Held the love and admiration of his people without resorting to fear and tyranny. He was everything Megatron wasn't.

Barricade looked away, unable to keep eye contact with Prime. His movement caused Ironhide to shake him roughly before addressing his leader.

"So, what do we do with em' boss? I could throw his ass in the brig and set up a stasis pod." He pushed the barrel of his cannon against Barricade's face and leaned in menacingly, voice mockingly sweet. "I'll even write your name on it, add some cute flowers, just for you."

Barricade frowned but refrained from replaying, closing his optics and turning away. To Ironhide, his silence and refusal to acknowledge him might as well have been the cherry on top in terms of insults, especially in front of his Prime. He was letting the burly mech know he wasn't going to stoop to his level of childishness. He instantly felt the mech's EM field flare violently and a growl rose up behind him. Before any damage could be done though, a more powerful field blanketed them, and Barricade was again awash in Prime's presence. Ironhide immediately settled, though he let a low grunt of dissatisfaction loose through his teeth.

"Let us all go inside. Ratchet wishes for Barricade to stay in the medbay…."

"WHAT!" Ironhide yelled, surprisingly cutting his leader off with his booming exclamation. Had he done such a thing to Megatron, he'd be dead; but Prime simply smiled, lifting his hand to calm his warrior.

"Barricade's connection to this girl concerns him, as it does me. I would much rather they stay together."

Barricade's plating bristled at the fact the Prime and his medic may know of his bond to the girl. Ironhide gave him a quizzical look, optics raking his frame as if if he could find the answer on his body. The mech wouldn't find anything. He'd need a keen sense of energy levels - which he doubted the mech had - to pinpoint the threads of interwoven spark energy that tied him and the girl.

"Ironhide, please escort Barricade to the medbay." Prime requested sternly, leaving no room for denial on the weapon specialist's part. Prime turned on his heel then, leaving Barricade to Ironhide's fickle will.

There was a brief moment of silence before Ironhide finally grunted. "No funny business con!" he said, giving him a rough shove to the back to make him move. "Let's go"

* * *

When Barricade was herded to the medbay, he expected Ratchet to pounce on him with questions about the human. Instead, the medic barely acknowledged him, only instructed Ironhide to place him in a corner where he couldn't get himself in trouble. When Ironhide tried to stay, claiming he would watch over them in case Barricade tried anything funny -like escaping- he earned a rather large dent to the helm with a wench when he refused to leave per the medics wishes. He finally left after the second dent and a threat to reconfigure his beloved cannons into toasters.

After that, it was silence except for the mutterings of the medic. Ratchet hummed and tittered, going between cybertronian and english as he spoke softly to himself. His large hands glided gently and expertly over his human's body. Her prone form looked no better than it had before he came to the autobots. Barricade wondered if that was normal, but with his connection to the outside world cut off, he had no way to check the internet to be sure. He was stuck sitting and waiting.

And that was grating on his nerves.

Finally, after hours of Ratchet mumbling to himself and reading datapads, he turned to Barricade with a questioning look. "None of the treatments I am giving this girl are working. Proper cleaning of the wound and antibiotics are keeping her infection from progressing, but other then that, it's not healing." he said, his voice laced with irritation.

Barricade looked up from the ground, eying the medic and then the girl. Pale, sweaty, bruised and bloody. A bad state for a human to be in for any length of time. He didn't need the internet to tell him that. But the fact that treatment wasn't working, did that mean she couldn't be fixed? Did they wait to long to get help?

"Any number of things could be the problem." he continued.

Barricade growled and narrowed his optics, not approving of Ratchet's round about way of speaking to him. If he wanted something from him, then he needed to just ask it.

"Speak your question medic."

"Do you share spark energy with this human? Are you bonded with her?"

"What if I am?"

Ratchet grunted. "I'd say it's impossible. Human's don't have sparks." he looked at his medical charts, humming thoughtfully and then turned to stare down Barricade. "But it explains the high levels of spark energy - your spark energy to be precise - surrounding her heart and flowing through her body. It would also explain why she isn't getting better. Spark energy in any form can be deadly to humans; their organic bodies are not made to sustain it."

This bond they had...was killing her. She was human though. Their bond wasn't the same as a normal cybertronian bond….right? But what Ratchet was saying made sense. Cybertronians and human bodies were vastly different in their makeup.

"How many times have you shared your spark with her." There was no judgement in Ratchet's voice, just a curiosity and the inclination to know the facts. Barricade was grateful for his professionalism. Had this been Hook, he'd be scorned to the pit for such actions. Not that this had been his desired outcome in the first place. But he'd certainly be the brunt of many disgusted and hateful looks, if not outright killed for being a disgrace.

"Once, and it was entirely her fault." And it was her fault. If she'd just listened and left him to die in peace, he wouldn't be here. He wouldn't be a pathetic piece of garbage and a disgrace to the decepticons. He would have died with some honor, knowing he had played a small part in the battle for the allspark, even if they did loose. Instead he was here, trapped with autobots and tied to a obnoxious dying human who looked ' _No_ ' in the face and gave it the finger.

"Hmmm, it could also be because of an incomplete bond….have you both accepted the bond fully." Ratchet asked. Barricade huffed and turned away, clenching his fists in his lap. His silence was enough confirmation for the medic.

"That is probably the reason she isn't healing. Rejection of a bond can adversely affect a bonded's health both physically and mentally. She's human and it's only speculation, but it seems the most likely cause."

"What if you just got rid of it."

Ratchet's sudden laugh was dry and without humor. "You can't just get rid of a spark bond Barricade. That's suicide."

"What if it's not. Like you said, she's human. Having this bond could be killing her. Getting rid of it could save her."

"And what about you? Say she lives, you will more than likely die. There have been very few cases of cybertronians surviving a forceful severing of a spark bond." He paused, contemplative, "Are you willing to risk that...for a human."

* * *

Aurorah lay in silence as she listened to the two mechs talk about her and the bond she shared with Barricade. She could hear the frustration and anger that laced Barricade's voice. She felt guilty that she had caused trouble for him. He'd been nothing but accommodating for her, even if he was rude about it. He gave her a place to stay and company to talk to. All she had wanted to do was save his life, repay his kindness and she went and fucked that up. Now the only person she felt she could call a friend in this world was thoroughly pissed with her and despite that he was still looking out for her.

' _ **Sometimes kit, you need to leave well enough alone.'**_ Kurama said.

"What if you just got rid of it."

Aurorah's eyes shot open. Was it possible to get rid of the bond. She felt Kurama's interest peek.

The medic gave a humorless laugh. "You can't just get rid of a spark bond Barricade. That's suicide."

"What if it's not. Like you said, she's human. Having this bond could be killing her. Getting rid of it could save her."

"And what about you? Say she lives, you will more than likely die. There have been very few cases of cybertronians surviving a forceful severing of a spark bond." He paused, contemplative, "Are you willing to risk that...for a human."

Barricade was quiet for far longer than Aurorah wished. He wouldn't would he. He couldn't. He couldn't let himself die for her sake, not when it was her fault they were like this. Sure their circumstance wasn't ideal, but he got a second chance to live. She may have messed up but she still saved him.

"What if I am. Would you do it, sever the bond?"

Her hand flew to her mouth in an attempt to cover the pained gasp that left her. Barricade was instantly on alert; he had probably assumed she was deep asleep and knew she would protest should she hear them.

Ratchet moved to her side, medical scanners activating and roving over her body in a red glow. "I suppose I don't have to ask you how your feeling?"

"If you guessed like shit then you'd be correct." She replied miserably. She pushed herself upright despite Ratchet's protest for her not to strain herself. She ignored him with a wave of her hand, well aware that she shouldn't be moving but she needed to see Barricade and she couldn't do that laying down. She heard him grunt irritably about disrespectful younglings before reluctantly giving her some space.

"Barricade..." she started but was cut of when the mech growled deeply, turning furious ruby red optics on her.

"Enough femme, no more of your pathetic pleading. If you had just listened to me in the first place, none of this would be happening!" He stood, stomping over her to her and pointing a sharp digit at her. "I told you to leave, that I didn't _need_ or _want_ your help. But like some sad, stupid puppy you came running back. Now look at us. You're sitting there dying and I'm stuck in the last place I ever wanted to be. A prisoner of war...all because of you."

Aurorah waited for him to continue, maybe even start destroying things in anger as he had done before at the warehouse. Instead he closed his optics and sighed, raking his clawed hands over his face. He just looked tired and miserable. The guilt she felt intensified and she felt ashamed. She'd never really felt ashamed of her impulsive behavior before now; no one ever really got hurt or anything because of her. But now, because she refused to heed warnings and do things her own way, she messed up the life of another.

And it was shameful.

Aurorah didn't know how to fix it but she certainly didn't want Barricade to sacrifice his life for her mistakes. Despite the pain she felt, she bent her body as deeply as possibly in her position, directing her gaze to the ground.

"Please forgive me Barricade. I...I only did what I did to try and save you. I care about you and didn't want to see you die." She looked up, peering up through dark ringed and baggy tired eyes. Yet they were full of sincerity "And I don't want you to give your life to save mine. There has to be another way."

Barricade gave her a hard look although it didn't have half the venom it usually did. "What you want doesn't matter anymore human."

"I know, but didn't the medic say it could be because we are ignoring the bond. Maybe by accepting it, everything will right itself."

"What if I don't want it."

Aurorah looked down, refraining from arguing her point like usual. Instead she relented to him. She'd done enough damage trying to get her way. The decision was Barricade's to make.

"Should you decide on severing it, I won't stop you."

Barricade huffed as if what she said didn't matter to him. It probably didn't, but maybe, just maybe, he'd consider the alternative.

"But I want you know, I'm not adverse to the idea of sharing this bond with you if you want to try another way."

Within her mind, Kurama balked in disbelief, shouting at her about giving herself away to the alien and having to share mind space with it. She frowned, balling her fist and pressing it the side of her head in pain and frustration.

"What about your...friend." Barricade said, obviously referring to Kurama.

' _ **Yes, what about me. Do I not get a say in this.'**_ He griped. Aurorah shook her head and rubbed her temples.

' _ **Stop, please.'**_ She whispered. Kurama glared at her before growling with displeasure and slinking to the very back of her mind. Another person she was failing. But Kurama's life wasn't the one on the line here, just his personal comfort.

"He doesn't have to like it. It's my damn body." she finally said.

"Wait, there is another bonded." Ratchet finally spoke up, rising from his perch against his desk. He had stayed silent as Aurorah tried to mollify Barricade but the talk of another person involved in this cross species mess was not going to be overlooked.

Barricade growled, folding his arms over his chest plates. "Not quite."

Ratchet motioned for him to continue but Barricade only grunted, tilting his head at Aurorah. "She can tell you."

"Um..." She gave Barricade a pleading look, not wanting to be the center of Ratchet's attention but the mech glared at her.

"No, it's your problem."

Aurorah turned to look at Ratchet, the medic tapping his foot and waiting none to patiently for her answer.

"I uh...well, it's not so much that there is another person, more like...I have two consciousness. "

"...Go on."

She frowned and slated her gaze to the side. She didn't really want to tell her past to a stranger, especially one who was not particularly on good terms with Barricade. But it might help for Ratchet to know. Maybe something with her connection with Kurama was keeping the bond from working. She felt the ninetailed fox shift restlessly within her. "Well, where I'm from, I'm called a Jinchuuriki. A human sacrifice used to contained a powerful energy. Before I was born, a ritual was used to place this energy inside me. This force altered many things about me, these ears and tail for example, are a result of this energy. I can do things many humans here are incapable of doing...like healing, or ripping through boulders with my bare fists."

"That all sounds ridiculous."

"Maybe here, but in my home, it's perfectly normal."

"And this energy." Rachet was patient and surprisingly intrigued despite his doubts.

"It's called chakra. Mine is different than normal chakra though. It has it's own consciousness and takes the form of a ninetailed fox. That's what Barricade meant by my friend."

Ratchet hummed before shaking his head. "I'll need to do more scans on you. It's incredibly far-fetched sounding but now that you have told me this, it would explain the foreign energy source in your body."

Aurorah nodded. "Yeah. See, normally these wounds wouldn't be a problem. I'd heal right up, but since coming into contact with Barricade's spark, I can't access even a small portion of my chakra. But I can feel it so it's still there."

Ratchet grabbed a small handheld machine and brought it over to her. The entire surface of it was just a flat screen and on the front was what appeared to be some sort of scanner. He placed it into a socket attached to a long arm coming from the ceiling above her head. It reminded her of those panoramic lamps they used in dentistry.

Once inserted, the arm started to move on it's own and Ratchet turned to her. "I'm going to use this to get a complete detailed scan of you. Now, lay down. This will take about 10 minutes to complete, so I want you to be as still as possible while it's going."

"Sure...can't really go anywhere anyways." Aurorah said, spreading her arms out around her as she gently laid herself down. She couldn't stop herself from looking wearily at the machine above her as it moved.

Ratchet eyed her ruefully before gathering up a bunch of datapads. He gave both her and Barricade one last look before heading to the door. "I have to go speak to Optimus, so be on your best behavior." he paused. "Oh, and Barricade, try anything like escaping and you won't like the physical consequences. It speaks of dire times when a medic needs to booby trap his own medbay."

With that he left, the threat hanging ominously in the air. Aurorah stared at the ceiling before chuckling, earning a drawn out sigh from Barricade when he caught her whispered remark.

"Heh...he said booby."

* * *

"Optimus...this girl. Her energy levels are off the carts. How she contains it...it shouldn't be possible for her human body to do it. It should be shredding her apart." Ratchet said as he barged into Optimus's temporary office, face buried in a datapad. It was really just a bunch of crates and large metal boxes put together to make some semblance of a desk with chairs but it worked. Optimus looked up from his work to regard his chief medical officer.

"Do you believe she could be a danger?"

Ratchet sat heavily on a box, a soft sigh leaving his lips as he looked up. "I don't know. She's been cooperative so far, but she's injured and there isn't much she can do in her state." Ratchet became serious, eyes narrowing. "But if what she says is true, should she be able to heal she may no longer be so compliant."

Optimus folded his fingers in front of him, resting his head. "Why? Has she shown any ill intentions?"

Ratchet shook his head and waved a hand. "No no, not at all. But from what I've observed, she seems to hold Barricade's well being in very high regard. Should we doing anything to jeopardize that..." He let his sentence trail off but Optimus understood well enough. The human would become hostile, defending her decepticon friend. And if she was as powerful as Ratchet suggested, human and cybertronian lives could be at stake.

"This is troubling."

"Yes, very. If the problems persists, she dies. And if we help she could live. But we both know no one will accept a deception to be loose, not on this base or anywhere on earth. Barricade especially."

"What do you suggest we do my friend?" Optimus asked softy. He watched a myriad of things play across Ratchet's face as he left the decision up to him. But he knew, there would only be one option for the medic.

"I can't in good conscious let the human die, not if I can help her. We will simply have to deal with the fall out should it come down do it….which it will, knowing some bots." Ratchet's lips pulled into an irritated frown as he thought on the particular slaggers that would voice their opinions the most.

Optimus smiled serenely. "A wise choice."

"I hope so."

* * *

Yes, technical explanations. I hope I did it justice and it doesn't seem too farfetched. I have difficulties writing down my theories. Can think them up, but getting them down as they appear in my head is a lot more difficult.

Now I need to start chapter eleven as ten is done. And its a nice long one for you guys so await it patiently. I have some art commissions to do between writing.

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


	10. Good in Me

It's...been a sucky rest of the year since I last posted. I lot of it is the reason I haven't posted. My grandma passed shortly before I last posted and that has messed up my creativeness. While I was able to get back into drawing, my writing has been...slow, except for drabbles. So for that I am sorry. Hopefully I'll be able to do better in 2018 but I don't want to make any more promises.

Also, this chapter is a bit erotic but nothing that garners an M rating. So enjoy the fluff.

* * *

 _ **Chapter Ten: Good In Me**_

 **Your heart's a vine that I've bled trying to climb**

 **Yeah, you're making a ruin of me**

 **Try to survive, keep my spirit alive**

 **But like a knife in the woods**

 **Yeah, you hunt down the good in me**

It had been at least a half hour after the allotted ten minutes Ratchet had told Aurorah to wait, before he returned to the medbay. Neither she nor Barricade had spoken since he left. Not that she didn't want to. She desperately wanted to speak to him but the black and white mech sat in brooding silence, his piercing red gaze fixated on her in a way that made her uncomfortable enough not to speak or even look at him. But she did fidget. A lot. And she was thankful when the medic finally came back.

"So, I have all the readings I need. It's nice to have a patient that relatively listens." Ratchet said, breaking the horrid silence. Aurorah smiled awkwardly.

"I aim to please."

A scoff came from her side. Ratchet looked between the two before coming up to her with a lit datapad. She saw many detailed variations of her body's inner workings; bone, muscle, organs, circulatory system. The normal charts you'd see of any human.

"This is your body. Fairly normal at first glance, but when you look deeper," he swiped his finger and another two charts appeared. One showed the familiar flow of her chakra system, the other, a foreign system, clashing alongside her chakra, red vs white. "This is the chakra you spoke of. And here, this is Barricade's spark energy. If I were to look at this as two separate spark energies I would 100% agree this is the work of incomplete bonding. The two energies have not synced properly, therefore yours is trying to fend off what it perceives to be an invader and because of this, your bodies natural functions are off. In the long run, this can and will kill you."

There was silence and Ratchet let his words soak in. So she would truly die. Unless one, she was able to rid herself of the bond, or two, she and Barricade made the bond right and properly synced their energies. She looked to Barricade and still, his gaze was fixated on her. She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it, knowing she would only try to argue with him about his choice. It would make him mad and more than likely force him into taking the option she didn't want. She could only hope Barricade valued his own life just a bit.

"May I ask how this happened in the first place." Ratchet asked, folding his arms across his chest. Aurorah looked away from Barricade to the medic.

"I uh..."

Red optics sharpened at her inability to confess and Barricade hissed. "She ripped open my chest plates and jumped right in. Like I said earlier"

An eyebrow ridge rose. "You were serious about that?"

Aurorah looked down sheepishly and Barricade simply gave the medic a dull glare.

"Well. That's...not how most spark merging happens. Usually interfa…."

"I would never interface with a human." Barricade suddenly interrupted.

"What's...interfacing?" Aurorah asked, generally curious. Both mechs looked down at her, each with very different expressions. Ratchet was mostly indifferent but a small knowing smirk played at his lips as he turned his optics to the other mech in the room. Barricade's face morphed into horror as he glared at her in embarrassment.

"Interfacing is whe..."

Barricade's plating flared dramatically as he turned sharply to the medic, waving his arms. "Don't you dare autobot! She doesn't need to know about that." he growled, claws twitching with the desire to strangle the medbot.

Ratchet smirked, hand coming up to grip his chin. "What's the harm. We're all grownups here."

Ideas started to form and Aurorah was suddenly overcome with the thought that she knew exactly what they were speaking of now. "Nevermind, I'm sorry I asked." she whispered hastily, a pink hue coloring her cheeks.

"You should be."

"Nothing to be ashamed of. She has a healthy curiosity."

Barricade gave the medic a sour look before straightening up. "What else do you need to know medic."

Ratchet chuckled, but relented in his teasing. "You said the girl jumped into your spark chamber. If it wasn't for the purpose of intimacy then why?"

"He was dying." Aurorah interjected. She could still see in her mind Barricade writhing in terrible pain on the floor. Claws grasping at chest plates and the entire warehouse filled with his agonizing screeching. She never wanted to see him like that again.

Barricade's optics closed and he sighed. "My fight with Ironhide during the mission city battle resulted in a spark injury. I fled of course, but unless treated quickly I knew I wasn't going to live. So I decided to hide away while I succumbed to my injuries. I recharged for months before this foul thing appeared in my hiding spot." At this, Barricade gestured at Aurorah. "I let her wait out a storm, but unfortunately she took it upon herself to try a fix me when I fell into recharge. I knew I wouldn't get rid of her easily so I let her do as she pleased. When she was finished, I made her leave but she stupidly came back. My spark decided to give out then. From there, I don't remember much, other than pain….and then peace."

Ratchet nodded, logging all the information into a datapad. "And?"

"And what? I woke up and we were bonded...sort of."

"You threw a tantrum."

"I did no such thing."

"You destroyed everything in the building and ruined the wall."

"I will hurt you if you don't shut up."

Aurorah giggled, but immediately hissed when the action caused pain to radiate throughout her side. So far the pain had been manageable thanks to whatever Ratchet had been giving her for it, but slowly it was starting to get worse. If what Ratchet said was true, soon the pain medications wouldn't have any effect on her at all. She reached her good arm over to her side, hand covering her stitched wound. The black and purple bruising took up a good portion of her side and threatened to reach to the other. Her shoulder was no better and she couldn't even really move it without wanting to scream in agony. She closed her eyes, feeling a wash of burning fire rake through her.

She was shocked back though when warm metal pressed gently to the skin above her hand. Her eyes caught onto the metal digit brushing her flesh almost hesitantly and followed it until she was staring into four tentative optics. Barricade's large body loomed over her as he had on many occasions, face too close and bright red optics scrutinizing her. But this time, there was no anger, no darkness and fire in his optics. Just a calm acceptance.

"If I was smart, I would just let you die. I would follow alongside you and all of this would be done with." he said softly, finger gently stroking along her flesh, tracing the outline of her bruising.

Aurorah didn't say anything to that, instead she gingerly sat up, bringing her face closer to the mechs. Her eyes took in all the small intricate details of his face and she reached up to touch the spikes on his forehead. He didn't retreat as she expected of him so she let her touch wander. Her fingers trailed down hard cheek ridges, over surprisingly soft thin metal lips and along his jawline to his pointy chin. She could feel a light caress on her skin as her fingers made their way across his face, electric and making the hairs on her arms stand up. His EM field washed over her gently, enveloping her in a pleasant static. What she could only describe as a deep purr, sort of like an electric cat's purr, rumbled from his vocalizer. She smiled. Barricade had unintentionally became attached to her as well, despite his desire not to.

"Do not make me regret this human." he rumbled softly, ignoring the medic who busied himself in the background. Aurorah smiled at the surly mech and placed her hand back to his forehead, rubbing placating circle on the smooth metal. Optics shuttered closed and a pleased hum was her reward.

"I'll try not to."

* * *

Aurorah tried hard not to squirm as Ratchet helped her bathe. It was the second time since coming here that he did so, claiming she was in no condition to do it herself and that she was in no way going to be filthy while in his care. While she knew she wasn't able to do much on her own and was thankful for his help, it didn't lessen the amount of self-consciousness she felt being naked and crippled in front of him. He at the very least allowed her the privacy of washing her private areas herself.

Her discomfort clashed with intrigue though, as she watched the now smaller medic gently lift her arm to scrub it. He went from 20 feet to 7 or 8 feet before her eyes. He called it mass displacement. He explained it was an ability common to some cybertronians who specialize in fields that require them to interact with other sized species; like medics, or spies and scouts who needed it to blend. It had been out of use though due to its large consumption of energon but since coming to earth they had resorted to using it, albeit sparingly. When asked if he could get any smaller, he explained that only some bots could subspace that much mass and he wasn't one of them.

She sighed, stepping out of the tub when instructed. She was quickly dried, fresh gauze and wrap were applied to her shoulder and side and she was dressed in a simple loose top and sweats. There was a brief clash of medal and hydraulics and Aurorah was swooped up into the now normal sized Ratchet's palm. She grumbled quietly about being manhandled. The medic chuckled and situated her more comfortably in his hand and headed back to the medbay.

"Ratchet, I have a question?" Aurorah suddenly asked.

"And I may have an answer."

"It's about this spark bonding thing. What exactly...is it?"

Ratchet looked down at her. "Barricade never explained it to you?"

Aurorah frowned, shaking her head. "No, and I never really got the chance to ask him. It was really sudden, and he was very angry about it. Like...really furious."

The medic hummed as he entered the medbay. "Well, if this really is all accidental, then his anger is understandable. Spark bonding is an extremely intimate act, reserved only for someone you wish to be together with for the rest of your life."

"Like...marriage."

"In a way. Bonding is not just an exchange of words that ties two together, it's much more than that. Once you bond, it's for life. Which is why such an act is thought upon in great length by the two participating parties before it's even done. A mech or femme is essentially sharing and tying their spark, their very life force, to another for eternity."

Aurorah looked down, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. She hadn't realized how...truly deep this went. She imagined it was simply a psychological thing, a sharing of thoughts, maybe even feelings. But it was so much more. That's why it had been such a big deal for Barricade, why attempting to get rid of the bond could kill him. It wasn't just his mind that she was connected to, it was his soul, his very being.

"Is everything alright?" Ratchet asked, after she had been silent for a while. Aurorah shook her head, closing her eyes and biting her lip.

"No, no it's not. I really messed up."

* * *

He had made his choice. He wasn't sure he liked it, but Barricade was willing enough to go through with it. What options did he have. He certainly wasn't going back to the decepticons, not with Starscream in command and not with a human in tow; and now that he was no longer on death row, letting himself freely die was no longer an appealing choice either. He may not have feared death, he'd accept it should his time come, but he didn't actually want to die.

And for a human, the girl wasn't too bad a choice to be bonded to. She was disobedient, but he could look beyond that for what she was capable of doing. She was strong -although by how much he hadn't really seen yet- but she claimed to be a great deal stronger than what she had shown. Her intellect was sufficient, at least enough to be able to learn how to treat cybertronian wounds. That was a bonus. And she was humorous. It had been a while since he had someone speak back to him in such infuriating ways. She got under his plating with such simple words.

He looked around the room he was placed in while waiting for Ratchet to finish with the girl's bath. It was sparse save for a small bedroll and some clothing. For his human he suspected. Barricade hardly fit into the room, but he wasn't planning on staying this size for spark merging with the human. It was dangerous enough that she had jumped into his spark chamber before; she could have been caught or smushed in the tubing and plating there. No, he'd make himself something more her size. He would never be as small as her, but he could even the playing grounds just a bit.

His attention was caught when the door to the room clicked and opened. In strode Ratchet, carrying his human in one hand and a cube of energon in another. The medic had to bend down slightly to keep his head from hitting the ceiling. He grunted and placed the human on the bedroll along with the cube.

"You two will have this room to yourselves for a while. There are no cameras, so your privacy is guaranteed, but don't think that will allow you to make any kind of escape." Ratchet explained and backed up to the exit carefully. He gave them a warning look, optics narrowing and then left.

There was silence and Barricade heard the tell tale sign of his human starting to fidget. She looked everywhere but at him, tail twitching erratically behind her. Sharp teeth nibbled on her full bottom lip and her small hands gripped and released the loose fabric of her pants. What an irritatingly alluring creature she was sometimes.

A deep sigh left Barricade's lips before he allowed himself to transform using mass displacement. Extra and non-essential plating and cables were subspaced, bringing him down from his normal 16 foot to 8 feet. It was the smallest he could go and even still he towered over her. The sound of his transformation finally brought the girls gaze on his form, and he unintentionally puffed his armor plating in show as her bright blue eyes raked over his form.

"So you can do it too?" she asked softly, slight awe in her voice. Barricade grunted in affirmation, knowing Ratchet had used mass displacement when caring for his human.

He watched her for a second, her hand coming up to her lips and her eyes squinted as she debated about something in her head. He could just see the wheels of thought swirling in that little brain of hers. From what he'd seen of her, it usually meant she was deciding on whether to act upon an impulsive behavior and that didn't always bode well for him.

"C-can you come here?" She finally asked, waving her hand slightly. He could practically smell the nervousness coming from her; coupled with the prominent odor of sweet cleanser from her bath, the strong bitterness of the medicine applied to her wounds and the spicy tang of her energy as it lurked beneath the surface, trapped by their unsynchronized bond. Now that Barricade was no longer quite as worried about either of them dying and he had taken a smaller shape, he could take the time to examine her a bit more closer than he usually was allowed.

The girl startled slightly when he suddenly descended on her, moving in close and invading her space. He reached out his hand, letting a sharp claw lift a strand of her crimson hair. He pinched the strands between his fingers, watching as they caught the meager light in the room and shone different shades of deep red and golden orange. She didn't move as he examined her hair, but her eyes followed his movements closely, cautiously.

"You humans are so strange." He said, letting her hair drop and moving onto her large triangle fox ears.

She gave a nervous giggle when he brushed the tip of his finger through the fine, grey fur on the inside. Her ear twitched several times as if trying to ward him off. "I could say the same for you."

Barricade hummed softly, shifting his weight into a more loose posture as he sat, bringing his knees beneath him. It had been a long time since he let himself act so casual and open around someone. And with another species no less. It was a foreign and discomforting feeling; but she had proven herself -that despite her impulsive nature- she held his well being in great regard. That knowledge alone softened him towards her.

"So...what do we do." she asked nervously. Her eyes kept shifting, as if unable to decide where to stay. She would look at his form before quickly flitting away. This amused Barricade as it was the first time she had actually shown any real uncertainty in his presence. She had always been brave when facing him, showing no fear even when he would lose his temper with her. And he knew he was not pleasant to be around or look at when angry. No decepticon was. They weren't known for their charming features like the autobots.

"You can start by laying down." he said. He saw confusion flash in her eyes before they widened. He chuckled, knowing what she was about to assume.

"I thought..."

"We aren't interfacing human. Laying down will be more comfortable for you, especially with your injuries." he explained. It didn't seem to fully mollify her, but she complied, laying back gently onto the bedroll. He watched as she started to fidget again, this time with the hem of her shirt and she bent her legs and pulled them close as if to protect her in her vulnerable position. He scoffed, grabbing her lower legs in his large hands and straightening them out. She squeaked in alarm when he pulled her to him, lifting her knees to hook over his hips. It was a very intimate position to be in, lewd almost. But he liked it, liked how it made her face turn brighter than her hair.

"B-Barricade!" she yelped, trying to pull herself away from his iron grip. He simply held her hips tighter against him.

"This is no time for shyness human. We are about to know everything there is to know about each other. There will be no secrets, only truth. Our deepest fears and desires will be branded into each other's souls. I will know you as if you were me and vice versa." Barricade brought his face to hers, nuzzling her cheek softly as he whispered. "We will be one."

The female stilled at his words, and Barricade wondered if she was starting to regret her decision. If so, now was the time for her to back out. He would not tolerate trailing around a deadweight attached to his spark for the rest of his life. It would be miserable for both of them. The only reason he had agreed to this in the first place was because she had been so adamant, so sincere about her wish to keep the bond. If she was going to change on him….

"Barricade..." she began to speak but was cut of with a red glare.

"Listen here girl, If you don't want this, then back out now. I will not carry around your regret should you be doing this out of some kind of misplaced pity. I would much rather get rid of the bond."

She stared at him, several emotions playing on her small face. Fear was prominent, although she did her best to not let it show. Sorrow maybe. He knew by now she was upset that she had placed him in this situation. And embarrassment was clear. Ratchet must have given her a bit more in depth explanation to spark bonding. But he did not see a hint of pity or regret.

"I'm not...doing this out of pity."

"Then why do you falter."

"I...I'm..." she took a deep breath before giving him a glare, her cheeks inflamed. "I'm embarrassed okay. I've never been this..close to someone before."

"I know you are. It's written all over your squishy face."

"Then why?"

"Because I need to be sure. Hundred percent sure."

The girl lay there, before he felt her reach up and grip the back of his head. She jerked him down till she could press her forehead to his.

"Well then, I'll let you know now I will not regret it and I am not pitying you. I don't go back on my word." she said.

Barricade scrutinized her at first, optics taking in her confidant words but less than confident expression. She was embarrassed but truthful. He wouldn't be very good at his job if he couldn't tell a lie from truth, and humans were much more expressive than his kind in regards to facial expressions. Even the good ones couldn't hide the minute detail of deceit from him. And their smell, well, that was another obvious indicator of their emotions. And the girl smelled just as she did when she entered the room. There was not a single drop of depiction in her smell, just a trace of nervousness and fear.

"I believe you."

She blinked, startled by his soft words. But she didn't remove her forehead from his. "You do?"

"Well, if you don't want me too..."

"No, no it's just...I don't know. This is a lot okay, I'm a little out of my element."

Barricade smirked, bringing his arms up to rest behind her head. He had become a giant cocoon, hiding this small stupid human from any prying eyes. She looked around her, examining his bulk and the small details that made it up. Her eyes then landed on his face and she gave him a nervous smile.

"I guess you should have thought about that before you jumped in to try and save me."

Her smile turned to a frown. "I wasn't going to let you die."

"I know that."

"And I won't let you die now either."

"I know."

"I'll punch death in the face personally. I swear."

He chuckled. She really wasn't that bad of a human. "I know." He took her hand from the back of his head and placed it gently on his chest. His spark thrummed with the contact. "We should get to it, before the medic decides we've taken to long." he said.

She nodded, fingers beginning to trace the seams in his plating. Her exploring touches made his spark beat faster and his plating tingle. Such soft touches were a foreign concept to him. She was the first to bestow him with it. His armor plating fluffed, opening more to her prodding digits. She took the invite, delving to touch hidden cables and the softer metal of his protoform.

The plating of Barricade's chest divided, retracting to expose the glowing casing that protected his spark core. Her face was awash with the light that peeked out, a serene expression gracing her as she stared. Gently, she reached in, fingers grazing the casing with feather light touches. His sensor net instantly lit up like he'd been hit with a live wire and his casing fell away to give the human full access to his core. Pleasure jolted his frame and through his wires, and he had to force the shuddering exhale from his vents as she finally grasped his core with her bare hands. Primus. He didn't think it would be this intense.

Tendrils of his spark shot out, reaching for her, grasping her hands and traveling her arms. He could feel her energy boiling beneath her skin, trapped in a tangle with old and aggressive spark energy from before. He let his spark delve into her, pushing back and eradicating anything left over from their hazardous first joining. There was a stillness in her, as her energy tried to figure out what to do now that it no longer was on the receiving end of a foreign energy. He was suddenly assaulted by it, as her energy rushed at him in it's fury, pinning him as a new threat. It vaguely dawned on him that her energy had a consciousness, that it could and would act on its own accord. And so he fought back, fought to cement his place within this little human.

He circled and enveloping her body with his field, giving her energy nowhere to escape and forcing it to confront him head on. Beneath him, her body shuddered, arching up to him. It was strange to have to confront two separate entities. While her mind and body accepted him, wanted him, her energy was hellfire and brimstone and not about to go easily. It roared and snarled at him, a beast of great power bent on making him suffer. Several attacks of red hot energy turned pleasure to pain and then back again.

Barricade decided to try a different tactic; he sent the feelings of pleasure and softness the human was making him feel at the beast within her. It stalled, unsure and clearly still very angry. He gave another push and another, feeling the hate and confusion give way to rippling discontent and then begrudging acceptance. But it was a success, as he was finally able to go deeper, to the core of her being. There was still the lingering feeling of being circled and watched, like prey, but he ignored it to focus instead on ripping open a new and raw channel between them. One filled with emotions, memories and feelings.

His body pressed harder to the humans, though mindful of her injuries. His plating was over sensitive and his sensors were alive with the feel of her skin and the fabric of her clothes brushing them. Arousal slammed hard and unexpected, striking low in in the pit of his belly and down to his array, stirring a fire he wasn't sure he was ready for. He moaned low and deep, lifting himself a little on his knees and sliding pelvic plating a little too sensually against the human's.

He felt her react in kind, grasping his arms and lifting her hips to meet his. He felt her pain in attempting the action, her shoulder and side protesting. Her face though showed no hint of her pain; it was open and drenched in pleasure as he slid his body gently against hers. Their energies tangled deliciously, electric and fire. His spark throbbed hard and he nearly collapsed when he felt her two little hands renew their touch on his core. She squeezed gently and then stroked, sending pulses of her energy straight to him. He pulled her tighter to him, arms sweeping to cradle her head and lower back, mouth open and venting hot air against her neck as he rode the pleasure racking his body.

It was too much. Her soft hands, her soft body, her fiery energy lapping against his, tentative but willing. It burned into his spark, cementing a spot there as he had done to her. Whatever her energy was, is was potent. It burned through his cables, danced along his plating in molten red arcs. Barricade wasn't sure he could handle much more when it suddenly retreated, leaving him bereft and falling into a powerful overload. He vaguely felt her shudder beneath him, a deep drawn out moan leaving her lips as she too reached what humans considered completion.

Her chest heaved as she tried to bring back some semblance of air back into her lungs and he could hear her tiny heart pounding away behind her beast. She lay limp but content, and Barricade couldn't find it in him to move her. His spark finally extracted itself from the human and his plating closed over to protect it. Barricade watched her curiously as her breathing evened. It seemed she had fallen straight into recharge, still tired and recovering from her injuries. He reached out with his field, tangling it with hers. It had returned to its normal vibrant, powerful consistency, no longer buried within her.

That also meant the autobots would be more aware of it. They were already curious about her, more then he would like. They would want to keep her, examine and see if she would be beneficial to their cause. They would take her away from him. The thought alone made a protective growl rumble from his chassis as he tucked the little human closer to him.

He would not let them.

 _She_ would not let them. That thought alone made him smile devilishly as he slowly slipped into recharge.

* * *

 _ **Long author note ahead :**_ Just gonna add this here since I've been asked it a few times. This story is a cybertronian/human relationship. That means, Aurorah will not turn into a cybertronian for the purpose of a romantic relationship with Barricade. Neither will Barricade resort to using a holoform to interact sexually with her.

I personally don't like the holoform route. While it has its practical uses, I don't feel a cybertronian would be all that comfortable using a holoform for the purpose of being romantically and or sexually intimate with another species, Barricade especially. There are so many ways for a cybertronian to get it on with a human then to have to change who they are to do it. I go the mass displacement option. The cybertronian will stay themselves, only transforming down in size to compensate for their smaller partner. This sort of thing is actually canon too as far as I know. Bots like Soundwave use it to turn into smaller objects like radios.

Anyways, another thing I'll point out is the bond between Barricade and Aurorah is not that of a sparkling/creator. While Aurorah is many times younger than Barricade, he does not see her as child no matter how much she acts like one. Biologically she would read as sexually mature for her species and so Barricade's spark would not react to her in a way older bots would to an actual sparkling.

Also, on the note of Sparkling happening in this story….It's 50/50. I like the idea of it happening, and I have lots of ideas for it, but it will all depend on if this story continues on in the way I want it to.

And one last note. This story will be changing in rating soon. It's going to get raunchy and super smutty guys so please be warned.

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


	11. Chapter 11

Super sorry about the slowness and stuff. Life still sucks and I have to battle constant depression and fatigue. It makes writing super hard. So please bare with me.

In the meantime, have an updated version of Aurorah. The one with the blue kimono is the one for this story.

sta . sh / 02ggjrq3kl75

Just take out the spaces.

I'm not too terribly happy with this chapter, but since it's more of filler chapter, it'll do. Trying to rewrite it didn't help make it better. Maybe you guys will like it more then me.

* * *

 _ **Chapter Eleven:**_

When Aurorah woke up, the first thing she noticed was that she was encased in warm metal. She immediately knew it was Barricade and turned her face to regard the mech's face beside hers. His optics were closed and a soft whirring purr rose from his vocalizer. He was content and it was the most peaceful she had ever seen him. He normally always slept with painful grimace. She reached her hand up to trace the hard lines of his face. She made her way to his lips and rubbed them gently. They were made of the strangest metal, thin, soft and pliable. Almost human. She wondered if that was intentional. All the cybertronians she came across so far had fairly distinct human features and mannerisms. She'd of thought they were of human creation had she not known they were aliens.

Barricade shifted above her and she placed a smile on her face when red optics blinked open slowly. He stared, groggy and filled with a pleasant buzz. She was glad to see him finally looking a little more rested and relaxed than usual. A deep invent and exhale came from the mech before he rose up. They hadn't changed positions since completing their bonding, so Barricade was still bent on his knees and her legs were still hooked around his hips. She smothered the immediate embarrassment and gutter images that surfaced but the smooth smirk the mech gave her let her know he knew what had surfaced in her mind.

"Nice sleep?" She asked softly, ignoring Barricade's quiet snickers.

"It was fine human. First soft surface I've had to lay on since coming to this miserable planet."

Aurorah's face reddened and she puffed her cheeks. "I'm not a mattress." She grumbled.

Barricade snorted, poking the soft flesh of her lower belly. "Really? Can't say you feel otherwise."

"And you're hard as a rock, get off." She said, trying to wiggle away. He tsked, leaning back into her playfully and keeping her from leaving. Soft smirk still in place, he moved his head close to hers.

"That's what she said." He whispered. Aurorah groaned, pushing at Barricade's chest. He only laughed, easily detangling himself from her lower limbs and standing.

She lay there, glaring at him unamused before sitting. She instantly noticed the easy way with which she could move now and immediately lifted her shirt to check her wounds. Already the stitches had burned away, the holes in her flesh having closed and only bright red scars and minimal bruising gave proof that she had been injured at all. She smiled, happy her body looked to be back in working order.

"So, you do heal on your own."

Aurorah looked up. Barricade had already resumed his normal height and was slowly sipping on the blue cube of energon Ratchet had left for him.

"Well yes, I said so before didn't I?"

Barricade closed his optics and shrugged, cube still pressed to his lips.

"You didn't believe me. Even after I showed I could heal you."

"One's word mean nothing unless proof is shown. You showed you could heal others not yourself."

Aurorah rolled her eyes. Her ears twitched when she heard the tell tale sign of approaching footstep. A second later she felt a deep uneasiness from the mech before her and Barricade turned his head to the opening entrance. The pleasantness that had surrounded their energy had all but disappeared, only to be replaced with a feeling of dread that certainly wasn't coming from her.

Ratchet and another taller mech appeared, though they had to hunch slightly due to the rooms lower ceiling. They were followed by two humans. Aurorah recognized one of them as the man who had spoken to her in the warehouse. The other was a brown haired man. He wore similar clothing as his companion and had a long scarf wrapped around his neck. Both men held those strange metal weapons but they had yet to point them at anyone. She knew that could change quickly though.

There were no words as she and Barricade were herded out of the room and back into the medbay. Aurorah was placed on the soft mattress that lay on a giant metal table as Ratchet acquired his energy reader machine that he had used before. She was instructed to lay still again as he ran his equipment. As the machine ran its course, the tall mech who had come with Ratchet walked up to her table bed. He was huge, plating colored blue and red with what looked like flames along his arms, legs and chest. She wondered if those were perhaps robot tattoos and she heard and felt the chuckle from Barricade at her thoughts. The two humans looked confused at his sudden humor but otherwise stayed silent and kept a watchful eye on him.

The red and blue mech look down on her, bright blue optics open and gentle. She could feel his powerful field brush against her for a second, inquisitive about her energy. She refrained from lashing out against the intrusive touches for as soon as he had let his field touch hers, he had returned it to himself.

"We have not formally meet human, but I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."

Aurorah's eyes widen, surprised by the deep voice the washed over her ears. Smooth and baritone, it carried a particular powerful edge to it that had her alert and listening. This mechs voice commanded attention, even when instigating simple conversation.

"Um...Aurorah. My names Aurorah." She replied.

"No last name. Most humans I know have one."

The question caught her off guard. She hadn't thought about her family. While she had plenty of time time to dwell on her thoughts, it usually ending up making her upset. Especially in regards to her family. She purposely avoided thinking about them and she felt a deep pang of sadness when their faces crossed her mind. Thinking of her father and uncles and the possibility of never seeing them again made her want to cry and she really hated crying.

"Senju." She said simply. Optimus seemed to understand she was uneasy with the question and so nodded his head and rumbled softly, not asking about it any further.

"I apologize, it was not my intention to upset you."

"No, it's fine. Where I come from, giving your last name is common. I just don't like going around throwing familial ties to everyone. It's how you get killed." That seemed to surprise the mech but he didn't comment.

"Very well then. Aurorah, I have come to speak to you about your current situation."

"Okay."

"Are you aware of the war between autobots and decepticons?"

Thoughts of her family her wiped away as Aurorah's face scrunched, trying to think back about everything Barricade had told her about this world and about his kind. It wasn't much, he hadn't been as forthcoming with personal facts or information that hadn't pertained to his injuries as she had been; but she did recall him speaking about autobots. He had said Ratchet was apart of this autobot group.

"I've heard the term autobot but wasn't aware of any war." she turned to Barricade but for once he wasn't staring at her. Instead his optics were closed and he looked wholly uncomfortable. His EM field was tightly wound around himself and she let a little bit of her energy seek his. He didn't rebuff her advance but neither did he accept it, so she left it be.

"Yes, it's a war that has been going on for far too long. It has brought us here, to planet earth, from our own home planet of Cybertron. We continue this war, with the aid of our human friends and we fight the Decepticons to keep this planet we now call home safe." here he gestured to the two humans who had accompanied him, the tall dark skinned man giving a off handed wave.

"What does this have to do with me?" she asked.

Optimus sighed before turning to Barricade. "The problem we face with you is that you have aligned yourself with Barricade, a very loyal Decepticon."

The words took a moment to sink in, but when they did, she now knew why Barricade had been so nervous about seeking the help of Ratchet and why he called himself a prisoner of war. Because he was. By giving himself up to the autobots, he had signed himself away into the hands of the enemy.

Above her, Ratchet removed the machine and she was granted permission to finally move. She did so, sitting up rigidly. Ideas were starting to form in her mind, ideas about what this conversation was going to lead to and she didn't like it. Her fingers twitched beside her, eager to hold a weapon, any weapon. Again she looked at Barricade and this time he was finally looking at her. He subtly shook his head back and forth.

 _ **Don't human...**_ the words invaded her head slowly. At first she thought it was Kurama, but the tone and vibe was different and didn't feel as if it was coming from within her. Instead it felt like it surrounded her, like a blanket of warmth had draped over her head and buzzed. And the words weren't really words, but thoughts and feelings that she could summarize into words. It was so strange.

 _ **Do not start anything. Go along with what Prime says and do not fight him.**_ Barricade's optics narrowed. _ **You may be healing but I feel you are still weak. Listen to me for once and let this one go...for now.**_

He was right. Her chakra was still in the process of healing her and getting accustomed to it's new arrangement with Barricade's spark. While she could access it like normal, she would tire out fast should she try to fight as she was now. And she had no idea how many enemies she would be facing either. It would be much safer to jump into the unknown at full strength, or at least stronger then she was now.

Aurorah turned back to Optimus Prime. "What do you want from me then?"

"Your assurance that you will not cause trouble on this base. As a Decepticon, Barricade's place here will be brought to question. Many will wish for...due punishment for the crimes he has committed. But our race is thin and dying out and I have no desire to do to Barricade what normally would be called for."

Aurorah hesitated in asking, just knowing she wouldn't like the answer. "...And what is that?"

"Deactivation."

There wasn't much Aurorah could say to that. Deactivation, or death as Barricade had quickly supplied, was the normal punishment for the things he had done. When she questioned it, he swamped her with images of death and torture. Cities falling to ruin. He had been instrumental to many losses on the autobot side and in turn many wanted him dead. He was a murderer and for that, the only reasonable thing to do was to sentence him to death.

"Then what is your plan?" she was calm with her words, but every part of her vibrated with anxiousness and anger.

"The subject of Barricade's punishment has not been brought to everyone yet. Unfortunately the decision no longer rests with just the autobots; the human's leadership will want compensation for what he has done in regards to Mission city, and so, more then likely, they will have a say as well."

Barricade rolled his optics. "Didn't kill a single human. Not sure why they are so upset."

"Perhaps. But you were instrumental in making sure those who did get through harmed and killed plenty. Your disguise as a law enforcement vehicle allowed you to pave the way for the decepticon army."

"What can I say, I do my job well."

There was a tense silence, only punctuated by the two soldiers low conversation. Aurorah didn't know what to think. On one hand, if what Optimus said was true, then Barricade's punishment was justified. But that didn't mean she was going to allow it. She couldn't. Barricade may have done despicable things, but so had she. And so had many people she knew. As a shinobi, killing was commonplace and while she did her best to heal all the people she could- both good and bad- she was still required to take life when necessary or when ordered to. She did things in the name of her village and Barricade did things in the name of his faction. She certainly wasn't going to hold that against him.

Besides, she was sure these autobots had done their fair share of killing.

 _ **Barricade?**_

 _ **Hmm?**_

 _ **I can get us out of here.**_

Barricade's interest was caught, and his optics landed on her. _**And how might I ask, will you do that? We are on an island in the middle of the ocean.**_

 _ **It's a technique I know. Just trust me.**_

 _ **What else do I have to lose.**_

Aurorah frowned, refraining from sending the mech a glare. _**Your confidence in me is staggering.**_

Only a deep chuckle and what felt like a pat on the head was her reply.

Aurorah startled from her pout when she heard an excited shout. She and the others turned to the medic. Ratchet looked at them -or more specifically her- with bright electric blue optics filled with wonder. His demeanor was a far cry from what she had seen of him so far. She had thought him fairly gruff and aloof. Before she realized it, Ratchet was hovering over her, datapad held out for everyone to see.

"I've compared your charts from before and after you and Barricade completed the bond and I have to say, you are a spectacular human. That you can contain this much energy is astounding. The amount has skyrocketed, and the scans previously showed enormous amounts of energy already. Your wounds are practically non-existent now and any sign of infection is gone. It's like it was burned away within hours." Ratchet exclaimed.

Aurorah smiled awkwardly, not used to such rapt attention. "Oh, well, the ninetails is certainly a potent energy source."

It must have been the medic's sheer curiosity, coupled with his excitement that made him reach out with his field. She felt his energy brush hers inquisitively, seeking the source. Once again, the feeling of the foreign energy made her retreat, coiling her energy around her like a shield. When Ratchet's field continued to probe despite her obvious signs of withdrawal, Kurama stirred irritably and before she knew it, the fox had pulled Ratchet with in their mind scape.

She watched as the medic stumbled, face morphing from excitement to surprise as he looked up, Kurama looming ominously above him. His tails fanned in a waving arch behind him, occasionally disturbing the clear water beneath them. His teeth gleamed from the blue lighting the crystals on the wall created as he let a deep growl fill the room. His fur rose along his neck and back and she knew he was prepared to pounce upon the medic at any given moment.

When Kurama's mouth opened, steam rose from between razor sharp fangs and red eyes pierced Ratchet in his spot.

"Wha-what are you?" Ratchet asked, stepping back as the situation sunk in. Before an answer could be granted, Ratchet was thrust back into his body. He jerked back, wobbling before falling with a clang on his backside. Optimus was immediately at his side and Barricade shifted just a bit closer to Aurorah as she looked down at the fallen medic with a look of concern.

"Are you alright Ratchet." She asked. Ratchet shook his head before looking up at her.

"What in Primus name was that!?"

"That was Kurama. The ninetailed fox I told you about." she replied simply. She had told him this all already. Did he not believe her?

"I...I honestly thought you were joking about having some beast sealed inside of you." he said sheepishly, confirming her suspicion. He took Optimus's hand as the larger mech helped him up.

She sighed. "Of course..." She looked up at the Prime with a frown. "So...what exactly do you want from me." She could feel Barricade's optics on her, unease thick within their new bond.

Optimus looked at her over his shoulder, his expression suddenly hard and uncompromising. "Cooperation." he turned fully to her. "I will do my best to make it known to the humans that Barricade's life is...not to be taken. But I can't guarantee anything."

She really should have known this was going to happen. She sighed again, this time a deep animal growl could be heard, even by the humans. They shifted anxiously, she could smell the fear, the fear of her. They didn't know what she was and they were afraid of that. Her ears folded back against her head and she looked up at Optimus, a snarl on her face.

"Then I can't guarantee anything either." she growled. She narrowed her gaze, tilting her head, her tail flicking slowly behind her. "If even one plate on his assholish frame is damaged by you or your bots," she looked back at the two humans and then at Optimus, "or your humans, then I will destroy this whole place. Everyone and everything. And if you don't believe I can do it...then by all means, test me."

She sat back slowly as nonchalantly as possible. Pride swamped her from Kurama and even Barricade and she basked in it. The look Optimus gave her though was not happy and she challenged him with a haughty glare. These people would not take Barricade, the only person she had left.

A deep invent from the Prime was heard as he stood straighter, regarding her with stern anger. But when he spoke, it was firm and calm. "Alright Ms. Aurorah, you've made your stance here clear." He turned away, nodding to two mechs standing by the door. "Now that you are better and not in danger of dying, Barricade will be put into a separate area."

Aurorah was swiftly on her feet, her body rigid and poised to defend. The two humans guns where immediately on her and she hissed, open mouth, sharp canines bared. Before anything more could be done, Prime's hand lifted, signaling the humans to stop. They looked from her to him and then back to her, hesitating before lowering their weapons. She didn't back down, but neither did she move to attack them.

"The people here are already very upset by his presence. They continue to question why he roams the medbay freely. It's better for everyone if he's placed in a locked and guarded quarters. No harm will come to him, not while he's here. That I can promise you."

Aurorah didn't sit down, her mind racing with ways to get out of this. Every fiber of her being felt on edge. She was feeling panic and not all of it was her's. She reached out to Barricade and this time, he reached back. But it wasn't for comfort, instead he warned her.

 _ **Don't, we went over this. I don't like it anymore then you do, but you need more time to rest. Then you can do...whatever it is you plan to do.**_ His presence was soothing in her mind and even Kurama begrudgingly agreed with him. She needed more rest. Her fist clenched, itching to punch the closest person and attempt escape, but she held them still.

"Fine, but remember Mr. Prime, not one plating on his stupid ass gets a scratch." she glared at him. "I make it my priority to uphold my word."

"Of course. If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be. Please, rest well." he said, nodding his head in her direction before he turned to leave, the humans following suit. Aurorah watched as the two mechs -the large black mech that had been threatening Barricade previously, and a new silver mech she hadn't seen with the group before- cuffed Barricade and guided him out. Every part of her jittered but she felt a passing wash of his EM field, giving her a brief bit of calm, before he was gone from the room. Every instinct she had demanded that she jump up to defend what was hers. She shook herself, rubbing her chest where the bond felt the strongest.

It was quiet once everyone but Ratchet left. The medic quickly busied himself with his datapads, but she could feel his optics boring holes into her every now and then. But all she could focus on was the discomfort she felt without Barricade next to her. She felt him completely within their bond but she really wanted him with her.

 _ **Not so easy is it.**_ he sent her. _**Sharing all these...feelings.**_ he wasn't happy about it. The fact that his emotions so easily bleed into her. And her's to him.

 _ **I'm fine. I share my entire mind and body with Kurama. This will be easy.**_

 _ **No, it won't. You were born with him. You have shared each other since the beginning...**_

 _ **I said it'd be fine.**_ she snapped.

Barricade didn't argue with her, but he didn't have to. He was right, this bond was different then what she had with Kurama. It was going to take getting used to and she didn't know what else was going to come with the territory. Barricade didn't know either and that was more than a little daunting.

"Is everything alright Aurorah?"

She was jolted out of her thoughts and she turned to see Ratchet hovering over her with a look of concern. The usual red light passed over her but she ignored it in favor of hudling into herself. A nap sounded nice.

"I'm fine." she said sharply.

Ratchet sighed. "Look girl, no one likes this. A human bonding to a cybertronian, it's made all of this very difficult to address. Autobots don't kill humans, but Barricade has done many things that can't simply be excused so easily."

Aurorah sat up, glaring up at Ratchet. "If you had planned to possibly kill him, why did you help me?" she shrugged her shoulders. "You could have let me die and Barricade would have followed along right with me."

"I could not in good conscious let you die. You were dying and I could potentially save you. So I did."

"Yeah, and what happens when you off Barricade, or torture him, or whatever it is you and your friends plan to do with him? What happens to me? To the poor little human you just _had_ to save out of the goodness of your heart. If I've been explained to all of this correctly, should Barricade die, then so will I and all of your efforts were worthless."

Ratchet didn't reply, so she turned from him and curled into the blankets. "If you don't mind, I'd like to sleep. I was told to rest, so I plan to do so."

* * *

Ratchet hesitated when he went to knock on the Prime's office door. There was no easy way around this situation. None that he knew of. The humans where going to want Barricade and he had a feeling his death wasn't what they would want. Prime was going to be pushed and he was already in a corner as is.

He vented heavily and knocked. "Come in." the reply was immediate and Ratchet slipped in, closing the door behind him softly.

"Optimus..." he began.

"What do we do Ratchet?" Optimus asked. He sat in his chair, facing the only small source of light in the room. "Barricade should answer for what he has done, I will not try and deny that. But this whole situation, it can't be handled easily." Optimus turned around in his chair. He was tired and upset. The situation did not bode well with him and neither did it with Ratchet.

"Who all knows about the human in our care?"

"Well...she's been kept under wraps for the most part, aside from those who were there when picking her and Barricade up. But they've been ordered to keep quiet about it and so far, all the humans have been talking about is Barricade."

"She can not be made aware to the humans leaders."

"Wait, you plan to keep her a secret."

Optimus nodded. "For now. While I care for the humans, their first reaction when confronted with something with greater power than them is to do whatever they can to get that power. And let us not forget the decepticons. The majority may have left earth following Starscream, but they will be back. And should they find out about this human…."

"They'll want her."

Optimus didn't need to reply and Ratchet slid into the seat opposite his leader, an uneasy silence falling over them.

* * *

And there you have it. Aurorah's a pretty protective individual, if that hasn't already been established. She's ready to kick butt if means protecting herself and her dumb decepticon.

Next chapter will have some action.

Would people be opposed to delving more into Aurorah's backstory in some of the chapters, even if it means more naruto stuff? Like knowing more about her family, and her life growing up and why shes a Jinchuuriki. I have a lot of ideas for this story, and it involves more Naruto stuff be added. I talked with my friend and we came up with a valid way to mesh the two worlds and such.

Just basically want to know how much I should delve into the naruto side of things(if people will even like it). Ultimately I can do what I want, but my readers opinions matter as well.

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy**

 **If you read this story, it would be much appreciated if you left a review. It can be of what you like or dislike about the story. I would really just like to know what you thought.**

 **If you review this story then please leave me a way to answer back. If you hate this story and flame and don't leave a way for me to answer you then I will not take your comment seriously. Constructive feedback is most welcome. Thank you.**

 **So please, R &R! ;D**


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